The Truth in Dreams
by ClumsyPinkTiger
Summary: For Mature readers only! It's back! NaruSaku embark on a mission alone for the first time in years. LEMONS. Kyuubi is creating problems for Naruto in more ways than one. When the connection between Naruto, Sakura, and estranged Sasuke is tied to an old legend, things get even more complicated. But, with Jiraiya straightening things out, nothing should go wrong. . .right?
1. A Hot Summer Night

Chapter I :A hot Summer Night

It wasn't often that Sakura slept in nothing but her cheeky underwear, but on a summer night like this one where it wasn't just hot-it was downright sticky-she had no choice. Not to mention all of Konoha was having some sort of air-conditioning emergency.

So, it was old fashion fans and ice or water based jutsu that offered the only form of respite. Seeing as Sakura was bereft of her chakra from training under Tsunade-sama all day, a chilly jutsu wasn't an option. So, after she huffed it into her small studio apartment in the center of Konoha where most of the other Genin and Chuunin lived and opted for a cold shower, she found herself deciding that just her neon blue panties with "foxy" written on the back would suffice for sleepwear.

Until the chuunin exam and around the time that he left, Sakura had been staying with her parents, but in an effort to feel less useless as a developing Kunoichi, she moved into a small studio apartment on her own. Although, admittedly, the place wasn't all that far from where her parents were staying, it was still her own space and she was close to a lot of the other young ninjas. Not to mention, her teammate and close friend, Uzumaki Naruto was just on the other side of the same building and something about his proximity pleased her. She liked knowing that his brilliant blue eyes were only a few steps away. Come to think of it, she hadn't actually seen the baka in almost a day-and-a-half. Tsunade had her so busy with medical training and now that Jiraiya was back in town, Naruto was fully committed to training so he could go after him again. Sakura's eyes glazed over for a second as she stopped to think of the promise Naruto made to bring him back. Something about that promise just didn't sit well with her and not just because of what that guy had become...no something else about it really saddened her. She'd already lost one dear friend...but even the thought of losing those brilliant blue eyes and never hearing his stupid laugh again...she felt hollow. Could it be that she needed Naruto?

…...

Gah! What was she thinking. It's just because he's a loyal friend and part of her ninja team. Nothing wrong with wanting to be close to a friend right? Pfft! Besides, she'd see him in the morning. Tsunade had mentioned something about Jiraiya taking her and Naruto on another joint mini-mission. She rolled her eyes when she remembered the last time she went on a 'mission' with Jiraiya and he had ended up spending both her and Naruto's money on hookers. Pervy Sage indeed. At least tomorrow should be entertaining.

Sakura blew a stray chunk of her pink locks out of her eyes. She could already feel a bit of sweat starting to collect on her lower back from the humidity in the room.

"Alotta good that cold shower did..." Sakura mumbled under her breath.

"argh. I'm too tired to give a crap. Cha..." She flopped down onto her stomach on her sheets and fell asleep spread-eagle like a giant starfish to keep cool.

…...

Sometime around 3am, Sakura found herself so much hotter than she was when she went to sleep and also incredibly aroused. For a fleeting second she thought she should feel embarrassed, but the thought vanished the instant she felt two powerful and slightly rough hands on her skin.

One had its fingers spread out flat on her stomach and the other was doing unspeakable things to the hottest part of her. Those hands felt so comfortable and so so good on her skin. They played her like a violin. She opened her eyes and realized it was still twilight and much too dark in her room to see the face of her cassanova. Shouldn't I be alarmed that someone is in my room and fondling me? No, fondling me is the wrong word-more like torturing me with pleasure. Just then the hand that was splayed on her stomach made its way down her hip and to her thigh where it pushed her legs further apart ever so gently. Sakura gasped; her mystery man responded with a small chuckle. Sakura squinted to try and make out his features more clearly. She could only see the silhouette of his form: the coiled power in his bare back; the sculpted muscle of his biceps; the scars from training on his forearms; most of all, his incredible smell.

She could hardly contain herself as she drew in the scent of him. She felt a rush between her legs as she knew she was getting wetter by the second and she blushed at the thought. Then, as though he could see her face in the dim light, he plunged two fingers deep inside her. Sakura cried out at the sudden invasion. O! It felt incredible. She was so close to the edge. He withdrew them and teased around her opening. Who is he? He thrust them in again and curled them ever so slightly-pushing her closer. His thumb found its way to her clitoris and she moaned even more loudly. He pushed her thighs apart a bit more.

Sakura couldn't stand it anymore. This man was about to make her explode and she couldn't see who the hell he was. She arched her back and lifted her head off the sheets. The sun was just starting to rise on the horizon directly to the right of her bed and as the light slowly sparkled in through her drawn shades, she squinted once more. The man took the final opportunity to bow his head down. Was he hiding from her? He moved his head lower...lower still...and then he buried his face in her heat and plunged his tongue into her. He withdrew it and..was he smiling? Again, he plunged his tongue deep within her and then placed his lips on her and sucked her dry. Sakura screamed as she released and through her tear streaked ecstasy she glanced up. In the morning light, she saw bright blonde spikes and the edge of brilliant blue eyes staring up at her.


	2. Too Early

Chapter 2: Too Early

Sakura couldn't believe her eyes. She felt so wonderful and this man with this incredible body had done these things to her and he was...Naruto!?

"Naruto?" The brilliant blue eyes glistened with passion as he slowly lifted his head from her nether region and opened his mouth as if to speak.

"BEEP-BEEP."

What in the hell? It was then that Sakura woke up to her alarm chiming next to her on the nightstand. O man, this just keeps getting better and better. Not only did I just have the greatest sex of my life, in a dream no less, but it was with none other than that moron, Naruto. Now that I've barely gotten any sleep, my alarm is chiming in my ear.

"CHANARO!" Sakura swung her fist hard into her faithfully beeping cat-shaped alarm clock.

"BeRP..bbooooo."

"Great, I broke it. Awesome, it's going to be one of those days." Sakura rolled over to face the small balcony next to her bed that looked out onto the expense of Konoha. She could just make out movement on the street below between the fabric of her drawn shades.

"Why in the name of the Kages does this village and do all ninjas for that matter have to get up so early." Her now cracked and very sad-looking cat-clock still told the time at 5:00am on the dot. The first gasp of daylight was visible on the horizon.

*Rumble-Grumble*

"Guess all that medical training yesterday is catching up with me. I am starving." With that, Sakura wrinkled slowly off of her mattress and onto the floor like a half-alive fish.

"Bleh." She sat crumpled on the floor for a second and glanced down at herself. It was then that she noticed that she was 100% in the buff. Gah! I guess I must have taken off my underwear at some point during that dream. Sakura rummaged around under her sheets and on the floor around her bed for her missing panties and finally found them halfway across the room on a small table by her closet where she kept a few photos. The panties were neatly draped over the old picture of her, Kakashi, Naruto, and him. However, they were positioned so that the leg hole lined up perfectly with Naruto's goofy grimace in the photograph and so that the fabric completely obstructed Sasuke.

"Grrrr! Look here underwear! I'm ok with you covering his face, but this whole Naruto thing is not what I want to deal with this early in the morning." Sakura shook her finger at her underwear like it was a puppy that had pooped on the floor. Cha! What is wrong with me?! I am talking to my underwear. I really must not have gotten enough sleep. Sakura placed her face to her palm.

*KNOCK KNOCK* Sakura jumped at the loud pounding on the door of her studio and bumbled in her underwear drawer as she brought out a fresh pair, this time with 4 different shades of green running in horizontal stripes across the fabric. She snatched up a beige bra that was comfortable when she needed to move quickly on missions and looked for her shorts.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

"I'm coming!" She assumed it was either Naruto or Jiraiya rousing her for the mission this morning. In the past, Naruto would always drag her to the Ichiraku Ramen stand in the morning before missions. She was all for eating breakfast early before a mission-but most days she just couldn't stand the smell of Ramen that early in the morning. It was just too much. But, today, she was starving and thinking about a huge bowl of Miso ramen swirling in her head, it sounded delicious. Man, I have been spending too much time with that baka, Naruto.

*POUND POUND POUND!*

"LOOK I'M NOT READY SO JUST HOLD ON!" Sakura kicked the bottom of the door for emphasis.

"TSK, Forehead, I know you take your sweet time in the morning but this is ridiculous! I have my own crap to do today you know." Sakura was surprised to hear Ino on the other side of the door. She had finally managed to find and put on her blue shorts and a sleeveless red top with the white Haruno family crest on the back. She eyed her backpack on the floor where she had left it last night after packing early for the mission. She unlocked and swung open the door to be greeted by not one disgruntled and sleepy face, but two.

"Ino and Shikamaru?"

"Tsh. So Troublesome." Shikamaru was leaning against the doorframe and looked as though he was barely awake. When he began to slouch and slide down the frame Ino gave him a hard smack on the back of the head.

"TCHI." Shikamaru grumbled and appeared to stand up a bit more.

"Alright Ino-Pig. Why are you both here?"

Shikamaru opened his mouth, but Ino beat him to the punch and given that Shikamaru didn't seem to want to put in the effort to explain himself, he let Ino speak.

"Well, I bumped into Shikamaru here in the hallway when he was on the way to your room," which would explain why Ino appeared to be in the same clothing she had on yesterday and looked as though she hadn't yet gone to sleep. Sakura raised her eyebrows as she looked at Ino.

"Look, Forehead, it's a long story. Just know that I haven't gone to sleep yet and I'm here doing a favor for Shika. In any case, he was on his way to deliver a message to you and then stopped me and grumbled something about how troublesome it is to knock hard enough on door loud enough to wake someone up. Frankly, Shika looks lazier than usual, so I decided to do him a favor by pounding on your door for him." A long pause followed in which both girls waited for Shikamaru to complete the little story.

"Okkkkk." Sakura said as she looked at Ino who shrugged. They both turned to Shikamaru who now had a bit of drool dribbling down his cheek as he seemed to doze off with his eyes open. Ino and Sakura let out a unified sigh and both cranked their hands back and gave him a unified slap-Ino's landing on his back between his shoulder blades and Sakura's hand making contact on his chest.

*WHACK* Shikamaru jerked upright like he had been hit with a cattle prod and then settled back against the doorjamb to Sakura's apartment; at least now, he seemed fully alert. "Tsh. Troublesome women." Sakura rolled her eyes at his comment.

"Jiraiya told me to tell you that he had to leave ahead of you and Naruto to meet up with ninjas from another village that will be helping you; so, he wants you and Naruto to progress to the hotsprings and bathhouses just a few miles outside of Konoha and meet up with him there tomorrow morning. Tsh, so troublesome. . ."

Meet up with other ninjas my ass. Jiraiya probably just wanted to spend some 'quality time' spying on the local women at the hot spring bath house before they actually set out on their mission. Besides, Tsunade brushed this mission off as though it weren't a big deal, why would they need allied ninjas to help them? Naruto was plenty strong and Sakura was now more than apt at healing and had some remarkable physical strength of her own. Not to mention, their leader was Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sannin. Whatever the reason, this news would mean that her and Naruto would have to spend the first day of travel alone.

*FLICK* Ino had taken her thumb and index finger and flicked Sakura square on her forehead like she always does.

"What is going on in that dome of yours? Don't you think you should get a move on and make sure Naruto is awake?" Shikamaru had already started to walk away. Ino turned and started to follow him.

"Hey, doorjamb, you owe me breakfast for this at least!" Ino yelled after him. Sakura could just make out a another one of Shikamaru's sounds of laziness and disdain as he walked down the hallway. Ino turned back to make eye contact with her.

"Good luck on the mission forehead." She stuck her tongue out at Sakura with that comment. Then, more quietly, she said "and try to have some fun, you deserve it after all that's happened." Ino smiled a small smile and jogged after the slowly moving Shikamaru.

"Thanks, Ino." Sakura said so quietly that she was sure Ino didn't hear.

She turned back into her small apartment and snatched up her bag and started for the door. She thought better of it and walked back into the bathroom to give herself a once over to make sure she didn't look too disheveled. O, who am I kidding, it's just Naruto. . .But, that's just it. It is just Naruto and her and no one else for almost 24 hours. Alright, snap out of it.

Her hair was clean and she had bags under her eyes from lack of sleep, but her skin looked great. She checked out her chest to make sure it looked perky and rearranged her boobs a bit as the bra was sitting awkwardly. She sprayed a little bit of body spray on her skin and took one more glance at her full body-including her prized backside-and picked her bag up again.

Ah, why not. She opened her bag and threw the whole bottle of body spray in with her clothes and weapons. What is wrong with me! Are my feelings this strong for Naruto? She thought of his smiling face and heard his voice in her head calling her "Sakura-Chan" and she blushed.

Ino was right, she could use some happiness in her life. With Sasuke leaving and joining forces with Orochimaru, Sakura had been put under a lot of strain. But, more recently, Naruto had pursued Sasuke and they had fought and Naruto had nearly died-that had shaken Sakura more than anything. Like it or not, Sakura had realized just how much Naruto means to her; she can't bear the thought of losing him and seeing the dogged determination with which he refuses to let Sasuke go-largely because of a promise to her-makes it all the more unbearable.

Yes, she was still upset that Sasuke was gone-but even the thought of Naruto dying or disappearing and Sakura can barely breath. The dream last night only added more fuel to the fire.

Even now, she is struggling to wrap her mind around her feelings for him. Yes, after the ordeal of how injured he was when Kakashi carried him back from his fight with Sasuke, Sakura could no longer deny her feelings for him. She cares for him and more than just in a friendly way.

But, that was largely how those thoughts had stayed until last night; and, stubborn as she was, Sakura was in no way prepared to delve deeper into them-especially because of how idiotic that baka can be.

Now, after that undeniable lust she felt in the dream for him, everywhere she turned she found herself seeing his bright blue eyes in her mind looking up from her pelvis with her ecstasy on his lips.

CHA! Sakura gave her cheek a little pinch to stop thinking about Naruto's face in such a way. The fact remained, it was just a dream and maybe she was just sexually frustrated and her mind had chosen Naruto because he was 'safe' and wouldn't hurt her. Something in the back of her mind told her that was definitely not the case and sooner or later these feelings of hers would come rushing to the surface like a volcano.

Regardless of the mess swirling around in her head, she was hungry, grumpy, and had to find his idiotic ass so they could get this mission underway.

She gave her small but cozy apartment a final glance as she swung her pack over her shoulder and turned to walk out.

…...

A quick walk down one set of stairs to the bottom of her side of the building and up another set to the top of Naruto's side of the building and she found herself three doors away from Naruto's own studio apartment. She slowed her pace a little as she tightened the Konoha ninja headband in her hair and glanced down at herself once more. O what is with me. Well, it should be nice to see him.

Just as she was lifting her hand to knock on Naruto's door, it swung open with such a force that Sakura flinched and blinked her eyes just long enough to miss her chance to dodge a full-steam-ahead Naruto as he was sprinting out of his own apartment without looking where he was going with arms full of what looked like trash.

"HLALU-" SMACK! Sakura felt a clumpy wet substance land on her skin and in her hair. Gross! Gross! Gross! But the smell was so much worse than the sensation; it was atrocious. It smelled rotten.

"Sa-Sakura Chan? Uh Good morning, Sakura Chan." Naruto had landed flat on his ass in the hall of the apartment building after running full force into Sakura's face. He also seemed to be covered in the clumpy white substance.

"Ouchacha! Baka, Naruto! What in the hell is this!?" Sakura snatched a cloth that Naruto was gingerly handing her that he managed to pull out of his own bag with lightening quick reflexes.

"Uhh. . .ehheheh. Let's just get you cleaned up." Sakura caught a sideways glimpse of a milk carton on the ground among some empty cereal boxes as Naruto pulled out several more rags from his bag to clean it up.

"Ew! Baka! Did you just get spoiled milk all over us!?" Naruto's face turned seven shades of red as he bashfully reached up with his free hand to rub the back of his head.

"Sorry, Sakura-Chan. I was trying to clean up my apartment before you stopped by this morning for our mission because I remembered you saying something last time about the smell from all the trash laying around my place. eheheheheh." He looked up at her with the most pathetic 'don't hit me' face she had ever seen-she almost fell for it because of those crystalline blue eyes of his.

Well, they both smelled lovely. No doubt about it, there wasn't a chance in hell this was the same Naruto from her dream last night. Right?


	3. Spilled Milk

Chapter III: Spilled Milk

Sakura let out a sigh as she crouched down to take another one of Naruto's rags to continue to clean herself off. Naruto winced when she made the motion, expecting her to smack him. When she didn't, his face fell and he seemed uncomfortable. His fist clenched a bit on the rag in his hand and he started to press harder on the spots on the floor-scrubbing like it might yield gold.

"What's wrong Sakura-Chan? You worrying about him again?" Naruto squinted at the rising sun through the open-air walls of the apartment complex's hallway and cast his eyes back down continuing to scrub the floor.

For the first time, Sakura really watched Naruto's face and saw the determination and focus in the wrinkle on the bridge of nose and the stubborn fearlessness in the way he set his jaw as he scrubbed the floor. She marveled at the loyalty in his eyes and the little fox whiskers on his cheeks. She couldn't believe she had never noticed how incredibly handsome he was. When did the goofy kid turn into this? Hell, he was still goofy-but something about his childish idiocy just made him even more attractive. Not to mention, she was one to talk as she was still childish in many ways too. How had she not noticed him?

When she didn't say anything right away, Sakura noticed the blue of his eyes turn a bit gray and she saw a heavy sadness welling up from deep within them. Naruto seemed to shove the sadness back down as he looked up her and smiled that toothy grin of his.

"Don't worry Sakura-Chan, we'll all be a team again some day!" He was pretty convincing too, if she hadn't been staring at him, she might not have seen that pain in his eyes. Was it pain for missing Sasuke? Did he actually care about her that much that he was willing to bear the pain of his feelings for her and deny himself in order to make her happy by bringing Sasuke home?

If so, he is so wrong. Sasuke isn't the one who can make me happy. Gah! What is wrong with me! Besides, there is no way Naruto could be that complicated. He's just a simple-minded goof. Man Sakura you are really full of it today! Even Sakura's own mind was rebelling against her attempt to ignore what she just saw in Naruto's eyes and, furthermore, that she never wanted to see any pain dull the blue of his eyes again.

Giving in to the truth of her feelings and wanting to tease him and perhaps make him feel better-just a tiny bit-Sakura got up from her crouched position and onto all fours. She reached to her and Naruto's right for one of the clean rags he had left in a pile on the floor. She tried to time it so that Naruto would at least see her move in this vulnerable position. She reached and arched her back a bit more than necessary during the reach so her butt perked up in the general direction of Naruto's face where he was sitting not four feet to her left scrubbing the floor.

It was at this inopportune moment that Naruto decided to toss the now used rag he had in his hand toward the pile.

It landed with a wet splat in Sakura's hair.

". . . . ."

Sakura could feel the sour milk dripping into her eyes from the soiled rag.

Naruto turned his head in the direction of the impact and saw Sakura quivering on all fours with the dirty rag in her hair. He was pretty sure she was shaking from pure rage. Why is Sakura-Chan on all fours? Gah! Don't look at her ass...don't look at her ass! It sure was nice and round and firm. SNAP OUT OF IT!

"Dahhh! Sa-Sakur-Chan! Your Hair! It's. . ."

". . ."

It was at this point that Naruto realized the incredible danger he was in given the silence from Sakura. He tried to scamper back a bit on the floor like a crab.

Too slow.

"NAAAAAARUUUTO!" Without turning to face him, Sakura coiled one of her legs back in her position on all fours and kicked with her foot square into Naruto's dumbfounded face. He was sent sprawling down the other end of the hallway and hit his head on the concrete wall. He lay there dazed and just barely conscious.

Luckily, with the healing power of the nine-tails, Naruto could withstand such a blow from Sakura; still, as Naruto thought-with a rainbow of colors in the shape of stars moving across his eyes as he stared at the ceiling-this one really hurt. Sakura-Chan does not like it when someone messes with her hair. Man am I lucky she didn't catch me staring at her ass!

Naruto's sensitive ears were still ringing from the kick and the incredible volume of her yell when he thought he heard her growl? Not over yet. Her temper was something to be feared. But man it was so hot! GAH! I SOUND LIKE PERVY SAGE!

"ARRRRGGHHHH NARUUUUTOOOOO! MY NEW SHORTS!" With that Sakura picked up the metal waste basket happily stationed in the hallway with one palm and chucked it one-handed straight down the hallway toward Naruto's face.

This time, Naruto was down for the count.

…...

When Naruto came to, he was laying on top of his hastily and poorly made bed in his own one-room studio. This was the first occasion that Naruto had ever attempted to make said bed and it was this same cleaning mood that caused him to run full force into Sakura and spill rotten milk on both of them. He was trying to impress her-though obviously he could do without the whole rotten-milk-in-her-hair part.

He gazed at the frog-shaped clock on his nightstand and noticed it was 6:00am. Ichiraku Ramen would be opening in thirty minutes. After drooling over the thought of fresh miso ramen for his grumbling stomach, Naruto realized he must have lost track of time. I guess I was knocked out by Sakura when she threw that trashcan. Rubbing a bump that wasn't there on his forehead, he gazed down at himself and noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt, though still wearing his outrageously orange pants.

"GAH! Clothes thief!" Sitting up alert, he heard rummaging in his only bathroom and running water. Someone broke into my apartment and kidnapped Sakura-Chan!

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto created two shadow clones to help catch this robber and kidnapper in the act. One clone checked that all the locks on the doors were still intact and noted that Sakura's pack was leaning neatly against the wall nearby. The second clone took a quick peek at his super gold ramen that he was saving for a special occasion. Everything seemed to be in order. All that's left to check is his bathroom and save Sakura-Chan!

The two clones and the original Naruto tip-toed their way to the partially ajar bathroom door. Naruto could hear the shower running. Is Sakura in there? Is she taking a shower? Realizing that with the door to his apartment locked neatly from the inside and that nothing seemed to be missing in his room there probably wasn't a thief on the loose. Naruto dispersed his two clones. They vanished with a poof.

Guess I got a little carried away because I thought Sakura-Chan might be in danger. Naruto blushed briefly and continued inching his way to the bathroom door. As he got closer he could just barely see through the opening. As he leaned against the wall next to the door and craned his neck so he could see through the opening, he caught a flash of pink and green.

Well, the pink is definitely Sakura's hair. He squinted and saw the curve of her bare back. Naruto sucked in a breath. He gripped the doorframe as though he might fall over. Her alabaster skin, the curve of her hip, the way her long legs met with her ass to form this perfect cleft, her graceful but strong shoulders-I can't look away!

Naruto's eyes widened. She was naked except for green striped underwear. Well, that was definitely the green I saw. He could feel himself getting hard at the sight of her. Sa-ku-ra-Chan. . .

He closed his eyes and saw a flash of him bending her over the tub. He pinched himself before the thoughts overtook him.

Naruto noticed that her shorts and top seemed to be hang-drying next to his heat lamp on the shower curtain rod. Her hair was damp and Naruto's sensitive nose picked up the scent of his Men's Konoha musk shampoo on her skin. Did she use my shampoo to wash her hair?! He remembered just the other week she was complaining about how awful he smelled. Why would she use my shampoo if she hates the way I smell? Naruto rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't imagining what he was seeing. Sakura-in my bathroom, using my things-and almost entirely naked. This has to be a dream. He heard a scratching noise.

Is she scrubbing something? She was crouched over the side of the tub and it looked like she was cleaning-his shirt!? Naruto's heart was pounding and he could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks and between his legs. Now that I think about it-my hair and face were still covered with sour milk. He ran his hands through his hair and face and smelled them. He smelled like soap. Did Sakura-Chan clean me?!

Naruto reached out for the door with his right hand with the intention of pushing it open and taking Sakura into his arms. His heart was about to burst. He was overwhelmed with desire for her; he took a deep breath and drew in the smell of her skin beneath the scent of his shampoo on her. She smells delicious. Naruto wanted to bury his face in her smell and make her scream. Again the image of bending her over the tub flashed into his mind, then the image of picking her up so faced him, wrapping her legs around him while he sheathed himself inside her. Naruto was so overcome with his thoughts of Sakura that he could feel some of his Chakra start to leech out. Then he thought of whether it might hurt her and the image was shattered.

I can't. This is wrong, I shouldn't be watching her like this. Whether she left the door open or not, Sakura doesn't have feelings that way for me. She probably just forgot to shut the door and figured I'd be unconscious much longer. He took another glimpse at her body and took a deep breath and turned his back. It took all of Naruto's strength to will his body away from the door and back to his bed. He needed and wanted her so desperately. But, he cared about her feelings much, much more than his own.

God, I am such a fool.

…...

Sakura felt so much better after washing all of that nastiness out of her hair. Not to mention, she absolutely loved the way Naruto's shampoo smelled and how it merged with the natural smell of his skin to create this potent aphrodisiac for her.

Frankly, over the past month or so, the smell of him had been driving her insane. She had even told the baka that she hated his smell in the hopes that he would stop using this damn shampoo that somehow magnified how wonderful his sweat and skin smelled and switch to some brand that didn't go as well with his natural scents. That dream last night had only made matters worse. Not to mention, she didn't know why she hadn't immediately realized that her casanova in the dream was Naruto after she smelled him. It's almost like her mind was putting together the pieces of how powerful an effect he has on her. Like she was finally starting to realize how desperately she needs him. All that complication aside, Sakura was just happy to clean up the mess he had made. God what am I thinking! I actually like cleaning him up and taking care of him. What the hell is going on with me!?

She had carried him into his apartment after she calmed down from the rage caused by him throwing the dirty rag on her hair. She did feel a little bad for throwing the waste basket at him after she had already kicked him square in the jaw. With her incredible strength it wasn't so hard to half carry-half drag Naruto back into his apartment, especially because he had left the door ajar in the chaos after the spilled milk.

After collecting their things and shutting and locking the door, she leaned him against the wall first while she used a clean washcloth she found in his bathroom to clean the gunk from the spoiled milk out of his face and hair. Then she took his fairly soiled shirt off of him and laid him gently on his bed. Sakura blushed as she remembered how sculpted his chest and abs were when she removed his shirt. She even stopped to press her nose to his shoulder and draw in his scent like some sort of drug addict. She also couldn't resist running her hands lightly over his pectorals and abs, after which she would swear that she heard Naruto moan in his unconscious state. That moan made her haul ass in embarrassment into his bathroom to clean her clothes, her hair, and his dirty shirt.

I must have it bad if I was sniffing him. Did he really moan in his sleep? She blushed again thinking about it. It also occurred to her that she had left the bathroom door ajar without giving it a second thought as she showered and as she now stands half-naked bent over the tub scrubbing their clothes.

Funny thing is, I don't feel worried like I need to shut the door or anything. I think I want him to see me. Sakura could feel a surge of heat between her thighs as she imagined Naruto outside the door watching her. Should I go check on him? No, I should let him rest, besides, I'm almost done scrubbing his shirt.

As Sakura finished scrubbing Naruto's shirt, she found her own clothes to be nice and dry and slipped back into them as she set Naruto's still damp shirt to dry near the heat lamp. He should be awake by now right-although I did hit him pretty hard. Sakura came out of the bathroom and around the slight corner created by Naruto's nearby closet to find him sitting upright on his bed wearing a deep red t-shirt with the Konoha village symbol on it and looking rather disheveled. He jumped at the sight of her.

"Sa-Sakura-Chan." He gazed up at her with unreadable eyes. Is he upset? Is he still in pain?

"Hi. . .Naruto-Kun." Naruto's eyes widened at the addition of "Kun" at the end of his name. Sakura has never called me that before. Does she feel sorry for me? The last thing I need is pity from her. She loves Sasuke-the icing on the cake would be her feeling sorry for me. Naruto gazed into Sakura's eyes for a long moment.

"Naruto? Are you ok?" I can't believe I'm asking him this.

Naruto buried his thoughts deeper. He didn't want her to see him sad it would only make this harder.

"Of course Sa-ku-ra- Channnn." Naruto forced a laugh. Looks like she fell for that laugh.

"Alright, well let's get some ramen! I'll treat because I used some of your shampoo." Sakura blushed a little and smiled.

"Thanks Sakura-Chan, but I really don't mind if you use it. But, I will also never turn down someone offering to treat me to ramen." Naruto smiled bigger, this time it was genuine. How can I not be happy when I'm with her, even if it will never be more than it is now. It's alright; she is still in my life, that's what matters.

"Great! Let's go! It's 6:30 they should just be opening and it should be nice and fresh! Then we really should get going to the bathhouse so we will be there by sundown. It isn't a very far walk, but still, we don't want to have to run the whole way there." Sakura turned and headed for the door.

"mmmmhhhmm!" Naruto agreed as he followed her. Sakura grabbed her bag and turned her head to Naruto. She said in an almost inaudible voice, one that she knew only someone like Naruto would hear: "and for the record, I happen to love the way your shampoo smells. The only thing that smells better is you." With that she strode out into the hallway and down the stairs of the building.

Naruto stood there in the doorway like he had been hit by lightening, his jaw on the floor. He retraced all her recent behaviors in his mind and found himself turning bright red. This can't be . . . .


	4. Memories, Miso, and A Mission

Chapter IV: Memories, Miso, and a Mission

After staring at the empty space where Sakura was just standing when she told him he smelled good, Naruto shook his head and tried to come back to reality.

Does Sakura Chan actually have feelings for me? Naruto's eyes went wide again at the thought.

What about Sasuke? Does she reciprocate my feelings after all this time? He had yearned for that to be proven true for so many years. He had thought about holding her in his arms for so long, about keeping her safe from harm with every choice he made. True, he had to get by on a day to day basis. But, his subconscious never let her beautiful jade eyes escape his mind-not even once-since he had first gazed into them on the academy playground all those years ago.

As a child Naruto was taken aback by how beautiful she was. Back then, all the children ridiculed him and excluded him. They would yell "monster" and tell him to get away from them. As a young adult, Naruto still faced torment, although most of his peers had come to accept him, a handful becoming close friends.

But, back then, not once did Sakura ever use that word "monster" toward him. Not once did she join in the berating. Naruto remembered every time she was on the playground with him and she was always so bashful and so terrified. Most days Ino would just drag her around. True, Sakura never stood up for him either, but he didn't hold that against her. How could he? He loved her so completely even then. He was amazed, now, at what a strong woman she had become and it only caused his love for her to grow into something much more intense.

When team 7 was formed and Naruto was hurt by Sakura lavishing her attentions on Sasuke and treating him like a clown who wasn't worth her time, the part of Naruto that was hurt was glad she had chosen Sasuke as her school-girl crush. He didn't want to just be some crush to her. Naruto wanted to be the only one she ever really wanted-and well, in Naruto's head, he figured she'd have to go through at least one crush to realize that. It just sucked that it happened to be his rival, Sasuke.

Now, he wasn't just in love with her; with his hormones raging, he needed her. But, even with dreams of pleasuring her coming to him regularly, Naruto still had impeccable self-control and would rather die than go against Sakura's wishes and desires. Naruto's greatest strength, his loyalty and self-sacrifice for others, was also a weakness. In the particular case of his feelings for Sakura, it had caused him to bottle up his, at times, desperate need for her. But, just the thought that she might reciprocate had Naruto thinking about the first time he ever touched her as he started to walk down his apartment complex's steps to catch up with her on the way to Ichiraku Ramen.

…...

There was one day in particular way back when young-6-year-old-Naruto was walking home alone again after the academy had let out. He decided to take his usual long stroll past the dock where he would often find Sasuke sitting alone and they would exchange their mutual glances of camaraderie and competition with each other; on his way there one evening, Naruto was surprised to find Sakura sitting under a big cherry tree that had just started to bloom. Her pink hair was glimmering under the first breath of the pink blossoms that she was named after as the branches of the tree fluttered in the early spring wind.

As Naruto walked closer to the tree-he heard Sakura crying softly. For the first time in his life, Naruto was struck with real desperation. He had to do anything he could to make her feel better. He took the last few steps toward the tree a bit more slowly.

"Sakura-Chan?" She continued sobbing but lifted her head ever so slightly from her knees so that just a sliver of her Jade eyes could be seen above the ridge-line created by her legs.

Little Naruto was not deterred in the least. He gazed up at the tree and there, in all its glory, was a rich, green leaf curved underneath the only 6-petaled brilliantly-pink cherry blossom Naruto had ever seen. The blossom was stunning. Yes, all the blossoms in their multitude were magnificent, but this blossom was a one of a kind and the leaf next to it, well it was big and strong and seemed to be embracing the blossom. Little Naruto reached up on his tiptoes and plucked the blossom and the leaf together from their spot on the branch. The two were fused and had grown together. Little Naruto turned them over in his hand and saw the faintest tinge of a brilliant orange in a swirl pattern on the bottom of the leaf. So the leaf is special too.

With the fused blossom and leaf in his tiny hand, Naruto sat in the dirt right next to Sakura, who had stopped sobbing. Naruto blushed and turned to her and said:

"Sakura, I'm Uzumaki Naruto and, well, I think you are prettier than any of these blossoms. No matter what. And like this leaf and blossom, I will always be there to catch you. I might blend in, because I seem like just a leaf next to someone like you. But I'm a special leaf-a strong leaf-I'm different from all the others-and one day, I'll be Hokage. Until then, you should know...that I love you!"

With that, little Naruto put the leaf and blossom on Sakura's knee and kissed her cheek and with a flurry of embarrassment, he ran away faster than he ever had before, but was very pleased with his little self as he did.

…...

Naruto never knew if she took that flower and leaf from him. He didn't stay behind or look over his shoulder to see how she had reacted back then. So often, he wished that he had seen if she kept it or even looked at it. But, he was still damn proud for having the gall to kiss her right then.

It seems like I had more balls then than I do now. Well, back then, she didn't pay so much attention to Sasuke. Not to mention, I hadn't promised her I'd bring him back. Hell, he hadn't left yet. Maybe if I had known back then and if I had tried harder to make him feel revenge was wrong. . .Who would have thought Sasuke would have such an impact and still does. Naruto thought as he remembered his younger days. He came down onto the streets of Konoha just outside their apartment building and saw Sakura making a right turn onto the Ichiraku Ramen street just up ahead. He started to jog a bit to catch up with her.

Then again, maybe I haven't tried to steal a kiss from her now because Sakura could now break my entire skull open if I were to try to kiss her without her permission. Naruto blushed at the thought of stealing another kiss from her.

Maybe that's exactly what I should try to do? I mean, the only way to know for sure if she is really over Sasuke is to kiss her and see if she kisses me back right? What do I have to lose? If she doesn't feel the same way back, I'll just have a smashed skull anyway and if she does. . .

"YOSH! I just have to time it right!" Naruto had decided. He would try to steal a kiss from her again, Sasuke or not, this determination of his to never give up was his ninja-way.

As he got closer to her, he could see her pink locks swaying as she walked. He caught her smell in his sensitive nose and inhaled it. He felt his face flush with color as he smelled his shampoo and remembered that she had used it. His mind did him the courtesy of flashing an image of Sakura's naked back and green underwear from earlier.

Naruto had to stop in his tracks for a minute to shove that image back down. Now is not the time to get hard! Not here in public! Naruto thought with embarrassment. Not to mention, she didn't know I was there. I was just being a pervert! Butttttt...Naruto ground his palms into his thighs as he imagined her screaming, topless, on her back in his bed. He could feel himself starting to get hard. No! Not now. These feelings are ten-times harder to control than normal! Think of something unappealing! Think of something unappealing! The first image his mind came up with was Ero-Sennin and Kakashi riding on the back of a cow together and looking rather annoyed at Naruto for coming up with this image of them.

"Hahahah!" Naruto laughed as he thought of those two. A few people on the street turned to look at him like something was wrong with him. Naruto pinched his thigh to snap out of it and kept jogging as he finally caught up with Sakura. He saw her slow down a bit as she approached the Ramen stand.

"Sakura-Chan!" Naruto called out to her.

"Naruto!" We don't want to miss a chance to get the first two bowls of the day!" Sakura had turned around and waved to him with a cheerful smile on her face.

He stared into her jade eyes and felt like he could finally comprehend how deep and complex his feelings were for her. The pull to her was incredible and it never went away, even as Naruto slowly grew dejected at her 'choice' of Sasuke when they hit puberty. He would bear his love for her forever. No matter what. Now, I might just have a chance. I just have to wait for the perfect moment to see if she really does feel the same way.

…...

As Sakura walked down the street to the Ichiraku Ramen stand, she could hear the sound of Naruto's feet as he caught up with her.

Did I really say that to him?! He sure did take a while to follow me down here to the Ramen place. I must have shocked him. O why didn't I have the balls to turn around and look him in the eyes after I said that? Did he blush? Did he like it? O no! Maybe he didn't hear me or is upset.. . .No way, it must be good right? Because I can obviously hear him running to catch up with me. Sakura's mind was giddy and going a million miles an hour after blurting out just what she thought about how Naruto smells.

Alright, I just need to act normal and see what he does.

As she turned around, she smiled as she saw Naruto catching up with her, she was taken aback again at how handsome he was. My memory never does those features of his justice. The real thing is so much better. I wonder if the same thing can be said about what's in his pants? Crap! I'm totally staring at his dick! Look up, damnit!

"So Sakura-Chan, are you really getting a miso ramen this morning?" He smiled at her with that big, goofy grin of his and put his arms behind his head as stepped in to walk beside her. They were only a half-block from Ichiraku and the aromas of noodles and their famous soup were wafting in the air. They could make out the seats in front of the bar and Teuchi and Ayame as they were setting up for the day.

"I think so! For once, I'm going to have just what you have, with the Naruto fish cakes and all." Sakura smiled back at Naruto as she took a lock of her hair and ran her fingers through it.

On her hand's way back down to hang at her waist, Sakura's fingertips lightly grazed Naruto's hip and the side of his abs. The move was completely unintentional on her part. The two had started walking more closely together than normal without realizing they were doing it-like some magnetic force was pushing them together.

Sakura's heart skipped a beat at the contact and she moved a little further away from Naruto-but not much.

Naruto sucked in a breath and tried to act casual like he hadn't noticed, but he could feel a burst of heat welling up from his stomach from just that tiny amount of contact. Did she do that on purpose? Naruto looked at Sakura with a sidelong glance. He caught Sakura's eye as she was looking at him at the same time. For a moment their eyes locked and time seemed to slow down. Neither had looked at the other quite like this before.

Their moment was interrupted when Guy Sensei and Rock Lee came sprinting around the side of the Ramen stand each holding a dozen eggs. They had them stuffed in between their arms and their stomachs as they ran cross-armed. They were also both holding an egg in their mouths.

"BAFAR-SAN! NAFUDO! GOO MOANINF!" Rock Lee blurted out with the egg in his mouth when he noticed them by the Ramen stand. He started to move one of his arms to wave. Guy Sensei yelling next him caused him to stop-short and realize he had eggs in his arms. Rock Lee looked rather put off that he wasn't able to use his arms to wave.

"FE SPRIII OF YOUF! UH SO EAFLY!" Guy Sensei began to tear up and he seemed very proud of something.

"YEF GUY SEFSEI" Rock Lee also began to tear up. Sakura and Naruto exchanged glances and furrowed their brows.

"Good Morning Bushy Brow and Extreme Bushy Brow!" Naruto waved to them as they took off running again.

"What the hell was that all about?" Sakura mumbled.

"Maybe they are making huge omelets? Who knows." Sakura and Naruto both chuckled at the image of Rock Lee and Guy Sensei attempting any sort of cooking.

"Good Morning Naruto and Sakura! Are you here for a fresh morning ramen?" Sakura and Naruto turned back to the Ichiraku building to see Teuchi, the owner of Ichiraku, waving them over. Naruto ran up to the counter, took a seat and beamed.

"Two Large Miso Ramen, Please!" The toothy grin was back.

"Tsk, Naruto! I don't know if I can eat an entire large ramen!"

"Don't worry Sakura-Chan! I'll finish it for you! HEEHEE! Besides we have a big mission with Ero-Sennin, so eat up!" Sakura took a seat next to Naruto as Teuchi dropped the bowls in front of them.

Both Naruto and Sakura picked up their chopsticks and said in unison: "ITADAKIMASU!"

Naruto dug into his bowl of ramen with his normal gusto, Sakura was surprised to find herself slurping up the noodles at almost the same speed. Maybe that dream last night and all this sexual tension really worked up my appetite?

The two were silent for a few minutes while they munched on their ramen. Ayame could be heard humming behind the counter as she stirred the soup pot. The rhythmic movement of Teuchi's hands as he kneaded some more noodles added a beat to Ayame's humming. More song-birds were chirping outside as the sun continued to rise.

With Noodles hanging out of his mouth Naruto turned to Sakura, his eyes widening when he saw the mass of noodles hanging out of her mouth. He was impressed at the amount of ramen she had already managed to eat. The bowl was nearly half empty.

"Safura-chan! You moo be veally hunfry." Naruto slurped the rest of the noodles into his mouth.

"Are you working on some harder training program with Granny Tsunade?" Naruto's eyes drifted from Sakura's mouthful of noodles to her exposed arms. Her biceps and deltoids were looking more cut. She was becoming a beautiful, strong woman. Naruto thought about his own physique and really admired Sakura's strength. We've both grown up so much since I left for my training with Jiraiya. Now that I've been home for a while, I can't stop looking at her.

Sakura gazed down at her bowl and realized how much she had put away. She blushed and looked back up at Naruto to answer his question.

"You know, I have had more of an appetite lately. Shishou has had me focusing a lot more on my strength lately. She told me my Chakra control is strong, but she mentioned something about this mission helping me to increase my stamina, which would mean I'd have more chakra to work with in the first place." Sakura took a sip of the green tea she had ordered.

"I wonder what Granny Tsunade means? Heeeyy! Sakura-Chan! Maybe she wants you to practice your stamina with me?" Naruto winked at her as he slurped a bit of his soup directly from the bowl. Sakura blushed at his comment as she was obviously thinking of another way to practice her 'stamina' with Naruto other than the innocent one he seemed to have intended.

That DAMN wink of his. I used it hate it when he did that. He was always just so. . .so. . . FUCKING ADORABLE every time he did that when we were kids. I remember it used to make me want to strangle the hell out of him. Now that he's so much taller, so much stronger, and has grown into this fox. . . .heheheh...of a young man . . .GOD WHY IS HE SO HOT!

"BAKA! What can I learn from you! I don't think that Giant Toad, Gamabunta, would want to put up with me." Man that was terrible. Is that the only comeback I can muster right now? Sakura thought to herself as she munched on the noodle pieces floating around the bottom of her ramen that was now mostly soup.

"Come on, Sakura-you know the greatest ninja of Konoha has a lot more in his arsenal than just summoning toads right?" He winked again.

That stupid wink of his is just damn distracting. She picked up her bowl and started to slurp too as she looked at Naruto from the corner of her eye.

Naruto gave his own bowl one final slurp and placed it down on the bar with a noticeable thud.

"Delicious!" He stretched and took off his backpack and proceeded to rummage through it. Sakura's vision was obstructed when he brought out something as she was slurping up the last of her soup from the bottom of her own bowl. She placed her bowl down just in time to see Naruto putting his Gama-chan Frog wallet back into his bag. He winked at Teuchi.

"Thank you Naruto-san, Sakura-san!" Teuchi nodded his head.

"Have a good trip to the hot springs! It's supposed to be a really clear night, so you should have a nice camp in the woods tonight before you get there in the morning." Ayame, Teuchi's daughter, blushed after she said this and looked from Sakura to Naruto and then back again.

"Na-ru-to! Did you just pay for both of us? I thought you said you never turned down someone's offer to pay for your ramen?" The looks from Teuchi and Ayame to the inevitable couple were as lost on Sakura as they were on Naruto. Neither one of them had noticed the insinuating glances from the joint owners of the ramen shop.

"True, Sakura-chan, but if I'm going to be your new sensei for the day, I figured I should at least pay!" Naruto smirked his trouble-maker smirk after that and started to get up and put his backpack back over his shoulders.

"SENSEI! Whoever said anything about you being my superior?! Last time I checked you were still a Genin and I'm a Chuunin."

"That would be true if I were still a Genin but, I've been promoted to Jonin." Naruto had a huge grin on his face. He was gloating a bit.

Sakura was shocked.

"You can't be serious? When did Tsunade promote you?"

"Yesterday in preparation for this mission. She said the rank should come in handy."

Naruto is right! He outranks me now. I guess that means I'll have to follow his orders. I'd be more than pleased if he ordered me on my knees. . .GAH! What is wrong with me! Sakura felt her cheeks color as she thought about Naruto dominating her. How is it that I'm more of a horn dog than Naruto these days!? AH! Who am I kidding, I've always been a horn dog! I just can't hide it as well as I used to with this baka walking around next to me.

"Let's get going Sakura-Chan! It's getting close to 8am; if we hurry we should be in the wildflower clearing by nightfall; that's the half-way point between here and the Hotsprings." Naruto walked out of the Ramen stand and looked up at the sky. It looked like it was going to be a clear day with nothing but sunlight. He turned around to see Sakura get up from the stool at the stand, nod thank you at Teuchi and his daughter.

"Alright 'sensei,' lead the damn way." Sakura's voice was dripping with sarcasm.

…...

They made their way to the Konoha gate, taking an inventory of their weapons and other equipment along the way.

"Naruto, are you sure you have all the clothes you will need and your sleeping bag?"

"Yup, I sealed them in this scroll yesterday to prepare for the trip." He patted his hand on one of the scrolls strapped to the bottom of his bag.

"Alright I'll grab some sticky buns for snacks on the way up so we can put off having to make camp for lunch until we get to the wildflower field." Sakura jogged to the stand next to the guard station by the Konoha Gate and bought a six pack of red-bean sticky buns. They were filling, sweet, had protein, fiber, and a decent amount of carbs. Best of all, they were a quick and easy way to get nutrients without having to eat something that tasted like total ass.

"Yosh! I think we're ready to go Sakura-Chan!"

"Let's Go!" They waved a quick good-bye to the two Jonin at the guard station.

The two set off at a run out of the Konoha gate and quickly made for the tree-tops, not out of necessity for secrecy, but for fun. It had been a full two years since the two had been out on a mission together without a whole slew of other people around them. What started out as casual bouncing from side to side from treetop to treetop for a few hours grew into a race.

"Naruto-kun!" Sakura called out to Naruto as he launched himself from tree branch to tree branch just a few feet to her right. They had just finished munching on one sticky-bun each as they bounced from tree to tree as the afternoon sun reached its apex.

He turned to look at her with wide eyes. He's clearly not used to me calling him that yet is he?

"I bet I can beat you to the fork in the Hotsprings road!" The fork was some three miles over fairly difficult terrain and it was just a quarter-mile from the fork to the wildflower field where they were planning to camp. Such a distance at high speed wasn't much of a challenge for Naruto with his stamina, but Sakura had always struggled with hauling ass over long distances and even moderately difficult terrain had made it nearly impossible for her in the past. She knew that with the new training Tsunade Shishou had been making her undergo that she was even stronger and should be able to almost hold her own with Naruto-at least for a little while. With the knowledge that the wildflower field would be nearby for her to rest afterward, Sakura was more than up for it.

Maybe he'll notice me and start to believe me when I say I like him if he sees how strong I am. I'll make it so that he can't look away. He'll be so charged with competition to challenge me-he won't be able to resist any longer!

With that thought Sakura took off at a speed that Naruto had never seen from her before. In fact, her speed resembled something only he and a handful of others (though, those others could only do so in short bursts) were able to execute. He charged after her.

The sun was beating down its late afternoon warmth as he made his way through the trees. They had been travelling for a while.

Sakura could feel her heart starting to pound with exhilaration after the second mile. This was normally the point where she would call it quits in the past. She used to think this was her body's way of telling her she was about to pass out. Tsunade had taught her how to use her chakra in tiny increments to strengthen herself when her heart would normally give out. Like very intense weight training for her stamina, Sakura had strengthened the very sinews of her heart by pushing herself to run harder and move faster for longer.

I have to keep up with Naruto, otherwise, how can I protect him? How can I catch him when he falls? How can I stop Sasuke when no one else is left? Because I will not stop. until. I. am. strong. enough. That's why. Sakura looked over her shoulder to see Naruto catching up to her with lightning speed. Must have taken him a little while to realize that I actually could go this fast. She smirked to herself. When she looked back a second time, she didn't see him behind her. Where did he go?

She looked to both her sides, when she turned around to face forward again she saw Naruto just out of her reach running in front of her. She knew he could go much faster, but he was just doing enough to slightly outpace her. Was he trying to encourage her to try harder? Did he know what I was thinking?

He turned around and smiled at her. She smiled back and stuck out her tongue. I can do better. Sakura kicked it in a higher gear and surged past Naruto. She saw his smile spread into a wide grin. She thought she saw his canines elongate slightly in excitement. Got him! He wants to compete with me for real.

The trees passed by her with a blur now, the songs of birds and other forest sounds were delayed and slowed as she surged past them at sound barrier speeds. This was the outer limit of her strength and speed-at least for now, she thought. She could feel her pulse skyrocket once more. I just need to channel a bit more of my Chakra to my heart and lungs and I should be fine. She closed her eyes and trusted her instincts to find her way through the trees at her incredible rate of speed while she redirected her focus and chakra to her heart and lungs. Judging from how long I've been going like this, we must be within striking distance to the fork. Just a bit longer and I'll beat him!

…...

When Sakura surged by him, Naruto was taken aback by her strength, agility and newfound speed. His senses were already heightened when she first issued her challenge to beat him to the fork. When she burst by him at an even faster rate of speed the second time, he felt his heart pound with excitement at the challenge and the prospect of some real competition. He had missed having this sort of competitive rivalry with someone his age who stood a chance of keeping up. Rock Lee had his moments of incredible speed, but they weren't sustainable and Shikamaru was certainly an incredible match for wits, which Naruto had a lot of-though most people didn't notice; he was Konoha's greatest prankster after all.

But Sakura, for her to be moving this quickly, with such a glimmer in her eye, Naruto was glowing with love for her. He already considered her more than an equal mentally and he knew her strength at times rivaled his, even when Kyuubi assisted. He adored her.

But, for her to show a chance to match his speed and stamina, he felt some of the Kyuubi's chakra leak out and his canines elongate. Not from aggression, not from anger, but from finally feeling like he had found his true mate in this world. He had to have her, her and no other. Sa-ku-ra-Chan. . .If you beat me to the fork, I will get on my knee right then and make you mine forever. Either way, I promise I will make you stronger so we can always run like this.

Naruto surged forward using all-fours to catch up with her. As he got closer he saw her hair blowing in the wind created by the wake behind her. Everything around them had slowed down and it seemed like the two of them were floating in a different world of hyper-speed from tree to tree. His heightened hearing caught her pulse.

THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP.

Naruto had never heard a heart beat so fast when it wasn't about to burst. Concern overtook him.

She has used her Chakra to keep her heart calm. She is very strong, but she cannot control it much longer.

Hearing the Kyuubi's voice in his mind caused him to refocus and he surged forward to put himself beside Sakura. He looked into her face as they keep floating at hyper-speed. Naruto could see the clearing for the Hotsprings fork coming up in front of them in his peripheral vision.

Sakura's eyes were closed and her hands were placed on either side of her chest beside her heart. She was wafting green chakra back into herself. He was amazed that with moving at this high rate of speed she still had the control and precision to keep her hands and chakra control even. Her face was calm.

Three steps until the clearing and Sakura still hadn't opened her eyes. After that last tree on the edge of the woods there wouldn't be another branch for her to jump to-they would be out in the air. Her eyes were still closed.

Two-steps.

"Sakura-Chan!" Naruto called out to her. She didn't seem to hear him. She kept up her speed and her green chakra stream was still flowing into her chest.

One step.

They were airborne with no trees left and Sakura seemed unaware of the impending danger.

Naruto saw a surge of blue as Sakura directed more of her chakra to her legs and she pushed into her final step on the last tree branch; she shot forward with the last of her power. Naruto saw that her eyes were still closed and with all the energy and momentum she put into that final step, she was going to land with that much velocity when she hit the ground. It was almost as though her body was willing her to win their little race at the risk of her own safety.

She is about to fall, boy! Catch her!

With all of his might Naruto burst like a lightning bolt in front of Sakura as she reached terminal velocity on her descent to the ground. He put his body between hers and the ground. He knew he wasn't going to be able to stop the fall, but he could prevent as much injury to her as possible.

I'm lending you Chakra. She is essential to our survival!

Does that mean you love her too?

. . .IRRELEVANT! NOW FOCUS!

With the wave of Chakra that Kyuubi gave him-Naruto forced chakra to his legs, feet, and arms and hands. He shoved down with his feet just as the impact of Sakura's body and her speed slammed into his chest and arms.

He growled as he absorbed the shock of the impact from Sakura's chakra enhanced speed.

I HAVE TO HOLD ON TO HER. WORK, ARMS!

He could feel the tendons in his arms stretching and muscles shredding as he held her in a bear hug. The force of the impact drove his feet and shoes two-feet deep into the dirt as they slide.

The pressure of the dual impact of catching Sakura and of them hitting the ground together was pushing Naruto's feet off the ground. He could feel himself lifting.

He drove his heels harder into the dirt with the red chakra. He knew if he lost his balance he might drop Sakura. He had to slow the landing first. He growled again. He felt Sakura's arms come around his neck and her legs wrap around his hips and hold him closer. Her head was nestled in his neck. His hyper-awareness told him she was still unconscious.

They slide twenty feet back from their point of impact. A large wooden sign that labelled the fork stood in their way.

The unfortunate sign looked as though it had been hit and re-righted in the past and perhaps deliberately moved further from the road to prevent additional impacts.

Naruto turned his head to see the rapidly approaching sign.

Shit! We are still going too fast.

Naruto let himself fall onto his ass to further slow them down. He didn't want to fall onto his back and drag Sakura's legs as they wrapped around him through the dirt too. He could feel small pebbles, rocks, and sand shredding his clothes and peeling back some of his skin.

The sign was getting closer. Naruto held Sakura tighter to his chest.

If we hit, let it hit me and not her. I don't want our impact with the sign to cause me to drop her.

It was then that he felt Sakura's hands lock behind his neck. She looked up with her jade eyes from his shoulder and stared directly into his sky blue eyes; his pupils had long since turned into slits when his canines elongated back in the woods.

The seconds began to slow down again as they stared at each other. Dirt and Pebbles littered the air as they continued to drag at a high rate of speed across the ground.

Naruto felt Sakura's legs unwrap from his waist. Sakura drove her heels into the ground behind Naruto. She set her jaw as she squeezed chakra into her feet and pushed. Naruto felt her hands come up and cradle his head. She was putting her hands between his head and the sign.

Mere inches from the sign hitting his head, they finally stopped. Naruto looked down at himself and his ruined shoes and clothes. Sakura was safe in his arms with only a few scratches and bruises that he could see from flying rocks and dirt. He knew his own road-rash would heal in a few minutes. She protected me. She found some chakra within herself to protect me. Sakura gently fisted his hair. He leaned back against the sign and her hands.

Thump...thump...thump.

Her heart rate had returned to normal. She was still staring directly into his eyes.

.Thump.

Her heart rate picked up again. He could feel his own do the same. The smell of dirt and sand covered them both, but beneath that smell, Naruto could smell Sakura's sweat all over his skin. Naruto could feel the heat grow in his body.

Their faces were mere inches from each other. Their chests were pressed together. He realized she was sitting in his lap; their groins pressed against one another. Naruto knew his growing erection was pressing against her still-clothed core with obvious need.

Sakura blushed as if she were just starting to notice it pressing against her. She continued to stare at him and her eyes welled up with emotion.

Am I making her uncomfortable?

Beneath the smell of their mingled sweat, Naruto's sensitive nose smelled a sweeter aroma blossom from Sakura.

Wait? Is she wet? So, that expression on her face...it's desire? Naruto felt chakra drip from his pores. His erection strained against his now very constricting pants. He was crazy with desire for her. He wanted to claim her. Make her his. His arms pulled her closer.

Her hands that still fisted his hair began to massage his scalp. He leaned his head into her touch. He stared back at her with such heat in his eyes. His entire body was telegraphing the strain it was putting on him to hold back. I have to be sure.

She removed one hand from fisting his hair and moved it to touch his cheek. Naruto closed his eyes again. His breathing was becoming heavier. Sakura wanted to devour his mouth. He is all coiled power ready to strike.. But these lips.

Sakura took her thumb and ran it across Naruto's bottom lip. His lips parted at the touch.

Does she know what this is doing to me. . .

He responded by sliding one of his arms from its clutching position on her back. He slide it slowly down her spine.

Sakura's chest was rising and falling with her rapid breathing, causing her restrained breasts to plead against the fabric of her shirt and very thin bra; she felt her nipples get hard.

As Naruto's hand moved down her spine, she arched into him. Naruto could feel her erect nipples press against his sensitive skin through the fabric of their clothes.

"Sa-ku-ra-Chan. . ." Naruto's eyes were glazed over with desire and vulnerability as he stared at her.

I want him and no one else. He is the only one who is strong enough. The only one strong enough to keep up with me, teach me, and strong enough to protect me. The only one. And he's been right there this whole time, right in front of me. Sakura willed her thoughts to reach him. She wanted to end his suffering, to please him. To finally show him what he meant to her.

Naruto's fingertips slide the rest of the way down her spine. When he stopped just as they reached the cleft of her ass she was overcome with feeling the size of him between her thighs. She wanted to know if it would fit-if she could fit the massive length of him inside her.

He's hesitating, even now. He wants to be sure I want this. Sakura closed her eyes as his touch lingered on the cleft of her butt. She took his poised hand in her own and moved it down to cup her ass. She squeezed her hand over his so he took a firm grip of her ass cheek.

Naruto's eyes went wide at Sakura's actions. Is this really happening? She really, truly wants me? She wants this?

As if in answer to his final proof and realization of her desire for him, Sakura stared deep into his eyes again and she gave the smallest movement. She ground her pelvis into him.

Holy. Shit. Naruto closed his eyes. He couldn't stand it. The smell of her filled his nose. He was going to take her. Right now.

Sakura's lips parted and she was breathing more heavily. Her eyes left his and he saw that she was staring at his lips. She moved her face closer to his so their lips were less than an inch apart.

Naruto was climbing out of his skin. His entire body was on fire with the need to be inside of her. Is she going to kiss me?

"Na-ru-to. . .." She mouthed his name with the softest voice; "thank you for catching me, sensei. Also, I won."

Sakura's eyes glistened with emotion as she announced her victory. Technically, because her legs were behind his, she had made it to the fork first.

Naruto couldn't take it anymore. His arms shoved her body against his and he crashed his mouth into hers in a desperate kiss. He placed his other hand on her ass and pressed her core into his erection.

Naruto saw Sakura's eyes go wide at first and then she closed them and he could smell the sweetness of her arousal getting stronger. He saw color touch her cheeks.

Sakura moved her hands to cup Naruto's face as Naruto closed his own eyes to deepen the kiss. Sakura ground her pelvis into him again while their lips were locked together; this time Naruto responded by rocking his pelvis up into hers at the same time.

A small moan escaped Sakura's throat while their lips were locked together.

Naruto broke the kiss at the sound of her moan. Sakura moved her hands back into his hair begging him to give her back his lips. Naruto resisted. He brought his lips close to hers and grazed his lips over hers as a tease. I want see your desire for me in your face. So I can burn it into my memory.

He rocked his hips up into hers again and used his hands on her ass to direct Sakura to move her pelvis again. They moved together.

Another moan came out of Sakura's now parted lips as Naruto watched. He wanted to hear the moan escape her mouth. He wanted to see the look on her face when he moved against her. I have wanted this for so long and it feels so good. She's finally mine. Really and truly.

"Kiss-me Naruto." Sakura said with her face flushed. She leaned in and sucked his bottom lip.

"Sakura-chan. . .Do you know how long I've wanted to hear you say that?"

Naruto brought his lips to hers again and heard another moan from Sakura when he pushed his tongue into her mouth. Their tongues met and Naruto moaned a bit himself at the contact. In response to his moan, Sakura pressed her chest even closer to him and ground into him again. I'm going to fuck her right here. She's got me climbing out of my skin with what's she's doing to me right now.

At last you've gotten the balls to follow through with her. She is ours now!

Naruto tightened his grip on her ass and prepared to lift her off the ground so he could put her on her back.

You're going to have to wait a bit longer. We're being watched and you mustn't consummate our feelings for our mate in the view of others.

Naruto stopped short of standing up with Sakura in his arms-their lips locked. So you do love her too! Wait, who's watching? Naruto felt his eyes change over to red at the possible threat to Sakura.

Your lust has distracted your senses. Our mate shows us her arousal scent for the first time and I admit, I was overcome too and hadn't noticed him either until just now.

Ahh. I hear him. Behind us and about ten feet to the right up the path toward the wildflower field.

Naruto broke his kiss with Sakura. She looked at him with pleading eyes and then surprise when she noticed that his blue pupils had changed to red. He brought his index finger to her lips and made the 'shh' gesture. He tilted his head behind him in the direction of their guest. Sakura's expression changed to one of seriousness and focus. She nodded her head in understanding.

"No sense in trying to sneak up on him. We made enough noise when we landed. He already knows we're here." Sakura whispered in Naruto's ear as she started to climb off of him.

Before she could finish her dismount, he grabbed her cheeks and pulled her face to his for one last kiss. She sucked on his lip as they parted as if to say 'more later, this isn't over.' The red in Naruto's eyes flared up and glowed as if the contact had renewed his need to protect her.

Something about his red eyes after kissing him didn't intimidate Sakura at all. She actually really liked it. Maybe the Kyuubi wants me too? I guess I'll find out at some point.

"I agree. No point in hiding either." Naruto whispered back after they broke their kiss. As they got to their feet, they noticed the mess they made of the ground around them because of their landing. They also took note that the sun was starting to set.

"Well, we have to make camp soon anyway." Naruto whispered as he pointed to the sky.

Sakura looked at how shredded Naruto's pants were. They looked more like shorts with all the rips. She grabbed Naruto's arm and held him in place before he started walking in the direction of their visitor; he looked at her with raised eyebrows.

She let healing chakra flow to her hands and Naruto nodded his head in realization that she wanted to make sure he was uninjured before they encountered a potential enemy. She did a quick survey of his body to make sure he wasn't hurt. When she was satisfied, she released his arm and they made their way to the large willow tree behind which the visiting chakra signature was wafting from.

As they walked to the tree, their arousal had fully worn off. Because they both had their complete wits about them again, both Sakura and Naruto rolled their eyes as they realized they recognized the chakra signature.

They exchanged glances as they got to the tree.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me." Naruto mumbled and put his palm to his face.

From behind the tree sauntered Hayate Kakashi with his nose in an Icha-Icha book as usual.

Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Good evening, Sakura, Naruto. I don't think I've ever seen you look less happy to see me."

Both said in unison: "Good evening Kakas-sensei."

"Is everything alright? It sound like you guys got into some sort of brawl over there." His nose was still deep in his book as he turned a page. It appeared that he hadn't noticed the two making out and dry-humping each other. They let out a unified sigh of relief.

I guess Sakura-chan doesn''t want Kakas-sensei to know about us so fast either. I'm still trying to figure out what just happened myself. Naurto looked at Sakura out of the corner of his eyes and then averted them and looked back to Kakashi. Sakura was staring at the ground and blushing. Naruto smirked as he thought of how he made her moan not two minutes earlier.

"Everything is fine Kakashi-sensei. We were just trying to make it to the wildflower field before nightfall so we can set up camp tonight." Sakura looked up at Kakashi like everything was normal.

"Ehhhh?" Kakashi looked confused and then he looked up at the sky.

"O! I guess I lost track of time reading next to the tree over there. It is almost nightfall isn't it? Hm! Well, in any case, I need to talk to the two of you about your mission anyway. Jiraiya-sama asked that I meet you here at the fork and accompany you the rest of the way to the Hotsprings." At that, Kakashi closed his book and looked rather pleased with himself.

"What?!" Both Sakura and Naruto said much more loudly and angrily than they had intended.

"Nothing to worry about you two! It's not like Jiraiya-sama thinks you are incompetent or anything. It's really more just for convenience sake. I was called to the hotsprings for the same mission and Jiraiya suggested we make the last leg of the journey to the hotsprings together."

"Great. Just. Great." Naruto deflated and looked dejected as he turned around to collect his scrolls that had flown off his back when they crash-landed.

"Hehehehe. Sure, camp. Sounds good Kakas-sensei! Happy to have you join us." Sakura overexerted her attempt at sounding pleased that Kakashi would be joining them for the evening and instead she ended up sounding more like an infomercial.

The trio walked the short distance to the wildflower field in silence. Both Naruto and Sakura looked rather sloth-like. They picked a spot next to the wild lavender as the scent kept some of the nastier insects away. They cleared the ground and dropped their packs.

They began to go through the motions of setting up camp. Naruto cleared space for a fire and Sakura started to set up the tent. Kakashi set up the food arrangements; after he finished and noticed that Naruto and Sakura were still moving like they had some sort of growing zombie-infection, he felt bad and decided to offer to cheer them up.

"You know, you two, I actually brought along something I found when I was cleaning out my closet the other day." After reaching into his breast pocket, Kakashi produced a ukulele. He struck the strings and began to sing and play. He belted at the top of his lungs-and very much out of key.

"WHY CAN'T WE BE FRIENDS?! WHY CAN'T WeeeeEEEE BE FRIIENNNDDSZ?!"

The volume of Kakashi's singing threw them both off-guard. Naruto stopped mid-jutsu as he was trying to light the campfire and ended up lighting his shoe on fire instead.

Sakura, turning around in the middle of Naruto's mistake, cast a water jutsu on Naruto as fast as possible without thinking and ended up drenching him in gallons of water. But, she did put out his shoe-fire, as well as completely drench the logs in water.

"Heh...eheheh. . .I guess I should get us some more logs huh?" Kakashi put his ukulele back into his chest pocket

"Sakura? Why don't we let Naruto change into some dry clothes and you come help me with the logs." Sakura sighed in response.

"Yes, Kakas-sensei." She looked apologetically at Naruto who smirked at her as his teeth chattered.

"Can't catch a break can I?" Naruto mumbled under his breath as he unrolled his clothing scroll. He watched Sakura's hips sway as she followed Kakashi into the woods nearby to collect more wood. Well, I've held off this long, what's one more night?


	5. Restless

Chapter 5 Restless

The temperature dropped noticeably as Sakura reluctantly followed Kakashi into the woods. Of all the times for Kakas-sensei to 'drop in' and decide to assist us on a mission; I suppose it's better that we recognized he was there before I ripped Naruto's clothes off and mounted him. I feel like such an airhead for drenching him like that! I just panicked when I saw his shoe was on fire. Wait! Shouldn't I be thinking Naruto is the baka in this situation because he lit his shoe on fire!? Nope. still feel bad. O how the mighty fall when love is involved.

"Sakura, how has Naruto been feeling lately?" Kakashi asked out of the blue, breaking Sakura's train of thought as he lead the way to some dry fallen branches next to a particularly large looking sycamore tree.

"He seems fine I guess. Normal really. Why? What do you mean?" Sakura bent over to pick up some of the branches and look for any damp spots. Kakashi was quiet for a minute as he bent over to gather some wood too.

"The Summer Solstice is in two weeks." It looked liked there was much more to it from the faraway look Sakura noticed in Kakashi's eyes.

"Huh? What? What does that have to do with how Naruto is feeling? Is something wrong?"

"Not exactly. Sakura. . ." Kakashi stopped with a few branches in one arm and put his other hand on her shoulder causing her to stop organizing the wood she had in her own arms and make direct eye contact with him.

"You need to make sure you support him. I can't tell you specifics, yet, but he is going to need you more than ever, especially in the coming days-and it's especially good that the two of you have gotten. . .so. . .close lately." Sakura blushed at that last part.

"What do you mean sensei? Do we seem that much closer?" Does he know about what just happened?

Kakashi started to turn away to pick up a few more sizable branches and sighed rather loudly. In fact, something about the way this particular sigh from Kakashi sounded reminded her of the time Guy Sensei and Kakashi played rock-paper-scissors and Guy lost. Kakashi had let out a similar sigh then. Sakura raised her eyebrows as she remembered.

"Honestly, Sakura. Naruto has been crazy about you his entire life and I've only watched it grow and mature into something much more potent and devoted. It's obvious to anyone who sees the way he looks at you and protects you that he is hopelessly in love with yo-"

"Sensei! Sensei! Really, I mean-I know Naruto cares for me, but, well don't worry. I do know. So, what I mean to say is you don't need to worry. I won't let anything happen to him. Besides, I wouldn't want anyone else to have to put up with him. We should be getting back now right?" With that Sakura stomped off with the wood in her arms.

Kakashi sighed again and muttered under his breath: "I see. She's finally realized she's been in love with him this whole time. She's just as stubborn as always. Her stubbornness will transfer over into her love for Naruto. Nothing will come between them once it's consummated. I hope she's ready when the time comes-she'll need all her strength to protect Naruto from himself. "

After threading her way back through the thick undergrowth on the edge of the woods, Sakura felt a bit better. I can't believe Kakas-sensei felt the need to say that! Of all the-ARGH! I know Naruto loves me; I've always known that. Sakura blurted out in rage over the audacity Kakashi had to try to tell her something she already knew:

"AND GUESS WHAT I AM MADLY IN LOVE WITH HIM TOO!" Sakura slapped her hands back over her mouth surprised at herself that she had just effectively told the entire world that she is crazy for Naruto. Her face colored to a bright pink. What's so wrong with announcing it? It's not like it isn't true. I've been in love with him this whole time. Yes, stupid Sasuke had my attention-but he was a very obviously unattainable diversion from whom I've always wanted, my one and only, Uzumaki Naruto. I finally understand. I just pushed Naruto away until I was strong enough to handle him and ready to commit. I knew even then, once I went to Naruto, there was no going back and no one else-forever. HOLY SHIT! FOREVER. Well, I don't know if I'm strong enough to handle him yet, but frankly, I don't give a damn. He's mine, with all his idiocy. His imperfections just make him even more. . .more SEXY. And if I don't show him just what I mean soon, I might end up jumping him in public.

"Na-ru-to. . ." Sakura muttered his name to herself as she walked the last leg of the path back to the campsite.

. . . ….

After watching Sakura and Kakashi walk out of sight into the woods (and enjoying the hell out of watching Sakura's hips sway as she went), Naruto set to finding a new, much warmer, and much less ripped pair of pants and a shirt from his clothing scrolls. He summoned his clothing from his scroll after making the fairly simple hand positions and placing his palm on the scroll. For this basic sort of jutsu, where a ninja was just extracting non-ninjutsu and non-living objects, like clothing from a scroll, not much effort or chakra was needed.

Naruto was very confused, however, when after extracting his stored clothing from the pile, he didn't find his sleeping bag among the selection.

That's odd, I thought I wrapped my boxers in my sleeping bag to keep them separated. I see my boxers, but not my sleeping bag. Naruto went through his haphazardly folded pile of clothing to make sure his sleeping bag wasn't there.

Whoops. Heh. I know what happened. I meant to seal it into the scroll after I finished throwing out the trash in my apartment. I got distracted because I wanted to hurry and clean up my place before Sakura-chan showed up. . .and in the aftermath, I didn't remember to seal my sleeping bag in with the rest of my clothes.

Naruto shivered noticeably as he thought about his abandoned sleeping bag no doubt still hanging in his closet-nice and clean-and ready to be folded up.

"I actually spend time cleaning my sleeping bag and I go and forget it." Naruto sighed and found a spare pair of obscenely orange pants and a long sleeve thermal henley. He slipped off his shredded and wet pair of orange pants and shivered some more as he stood in just his green boxers and his wet shirt. He hurriedly slipped into the dry pants-checking that his boxers were dry along the way and zipped himself up.

As he grazed his hand over the seal on his belly button in the process of buttoning the fresh pair of pants, he felt a pang in his head.

I can't believe you're letting that annoying offspring of the Whitefang interfere with our ability to consummate our feelings for our female.

Look, apparently I want her every bit as much as you, but we are just going to have to wait a bit longer. Besides, is she really 'ours?' I'm pretty sure all we did was make-out and dry hump a bit. Hell, I don't even know what I'm doing. Sakura-chan might just be lusting after us.

Tch. You never seen to have difficulty taking risks in battle when comrades' lives are at stake. Now, when the slightest possibility of rejection exists, you want to run and hide like a little pup! This female is ours. We smelled it! I'll leave you to your weaknesses for now, but, we have to consummate with her soon but not before the penance is paid.

Consummate? Penance? What are you talking about? I hate to break it to you, kit, but I'm still a virgin!

The Kyuubi snarled in Naruto's head; he really hated being called a kit or baby fox.

LISTEN, BOY! You had no difficulty playing her into our hands earlier. You may be a dimwit infant, but you will know exactly what to do when our mate is in our arms. JUST DON'T MAKE US WAIT MUCH LONGER. IT MUST BE WITH HARUNO SAKURA-NO OTHER-AND SOON.

Who else would I want to be with besides Sakura? She's the only woman in the world I see or for that matter, have any sexual feelings for, but what's the rush?

Kyuubi's final statement was punctuated with a ringing in Naruto's ears. His head pulsated with the sound and he felt a bit dizzy. He rubbed at his temples in an attempt to stifle the effects. The ringing prevented him from hearing Sakura yell out her love for him on her way back to the campsite.

Once the ringing stopped, Naruto heard nothing but silence in his head; the Kyuubi had gone back to sleep inside his body for the time being. Well, that was a new parting gift you left me with. Teme. Naruto sighed again and pulled the dry henley over his skin and slipped a clean black t-shirt over the henley and finally put another orange and black fleece on over that. He rubbed his arms to warm up some more. Naruto could feel the temperature dropping rapidly despite how hot it had been the night before. Erratic weather. This is what you get in the woods in late spring. Seems like it's going to be a cold night without a sleeping bag. He folded up his Konoha ninja headband and put it in his pocket. He fluffed his hair a bit and stretched.

Naruto re-sealed his clothing into the scroll and looked up in time to see Sakura emerging from the woods with her arms full of dried logs.

Her biceps were taut as she carried the pile of 6 or 7 logs. He could clearly make out the striations of muscle in her shoulders and the way her tendons came down to join at her elbow and flowed gracefully into her forearms. Her gloves still covered her hands, but he could see from her grip that even though this load of branches would be heavy by anyone else's standards, Sakura wasn't having much trouble carrying it. He admired the way the dirt and sand adorned her skin from their crash-landing earlier and that she didn't seem to care.

The way her perfectly toned and not too skinny stomach met at her tiny waist made Naruto want to squeeze her. He licked his lips as he continued to stare. Her hips widened out to form a noticeable hourglass shape down through her powerful thighs and the length of her legs. Anyone who looked at her could see how perfect her figure was but as soon as her body was in motion, her muscle tone gave off a serious warning to most. Sakura doesn't play around and she is most certainly not demure. Naruto loved that about her.

He may believe completely in protecting those who are weak, but weakness or shyness was never a turn on for him. I suppose it is a little funny that I liked Sakura as much as a I did when we were children because she was so shy. No, Sakura was different. She always has been. I've been drawn to her my entire life. I've always felt the need to protect her above all others. It figures she would turn out to be just as fearsome and headstrong as me. Naruto loved how Sakura could be so hard and intimidating and so soft, sensitive, and delicate at the same time. Her sensitivity is really the root of her strength.

Throughout the years, most of the guy friends he's made among his peers, namely Shikamaru, Rock Lee, and Neiji, and to a lesser extent, even Kiba, pushed him to date Hinata for a while. Only Gaara stood firm that Sakura was the best and only choice for Naruto, which Naruto had really come to appreciate about Gaara. Teh. It would figure that Gaara would know me best.

Naruto liked Hinata just fine as a friend, but her constant politeness and overly modest tendencies aggravated Naruto. To him, the fact that she was so consistently this way made her seem almost cold. True, Naruto had no idea Hinata was in love with him until Kiba screamed it in his face one day; but, after that, it hit Naruto why he didn't reciprocate Hinata's feelings; the way she looked at him and acted around him reminded him of the way Sakura used to look and act around Sasuke, which, frankly, made him sick to his stomach. Naruto would always respect Hinata and after going on missions with her a few times, he had no doubt that she was very strong in her own way. But, he didn't want to be anyone's school-girl obsession-not after what Sasuke had done to Sakura. Besides, he was almost certain that Kiba was genuinely in love with her.

After tracing down Sakura's figure to her feet, Naruto's eyes shot back up to her chest and face. He noticed that her breasts were smashed against her because of how she was holding the logs. His heart began to race at the sight of her, her strength, her figure, her soft pink hair that shone in the moonlight. Seeing her breasts smashed against her that way, Naruto realized just how big they were. How have I never seen noticed that before? He could feel the heat building in his stomach. His sensitive nose drew in her smell despite the space between them.

God she is beautiful. Her glittering Jade eyes locked on his. She hadn't moved for almost a minute. Naruto got the distinct sensation that Sakura had been staring at his body too. He had never felt so obviously admired by anyone before-never mind Sakura. The feeling was overwhelming. Continuing to meet her eyes almost felt like staring at the sun. Naruto felt transfixed and overcome with the need to touch her. Her saw her bite her bottom lip.

I can actually feel her lusting for me! What if that's all it is? This is too much. Not right now with Kakashi around. It was then that Naruto broke his eye contact with Sakura.

Just as a pained look formed on Sakura's face and she opened her mouth as though she was about to speak, Kakashi emerged from the woods carrying logs of his own. The sexual tension between the two quickly shifted to frustration and Kakashi felt the noticeable tension when he walked in between them and began arranging the wood for a new fire.

Kakashi sighed the same sigh that Sakura had heard him make when they were in the woods not five minutes prior.

"Look you two, I really don't want to interfere with what's going on between you. But, I've had enough experience to know when two people want to jump each other as much as you two do. And, it's not like I haven't seen this coming over the years. I'm not the genius copy-ninja for nothing. In fact, I don't think I've seen sexual tension this powerful between two people before-with one exception." Kakashi smiled to himself as he walked over to take the logs out of Sakura's frozen arms as she stared at him dumbfounded.

Naruto's cheeks were starting to color and he was grinding his teeth a bit as he was trying to prevent himself from socking Kakashi across his jaw. It was Sakura's temper that unraveled first.

"JUST WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN SENSEI!? SEXUAL TENSION!? WHAT TENSION? THERE'S NO TENSION. SEE!" Sakura quickly walked over to Naruto and gave him a 'heyyyy bro' slap hard across the back. Naruto flinched a bit at the contact as Sakura hit him a bit harder than she probably meant to. He decided to mimic her 'heyy bro' camaraderie.

He grabbed Sakura in a headlock and ruffled her hair like she was his little sister.

"YEA. SEE KAKAS-SENSEI. Everything's normal! EHEHEHEH...eh." Sakura poked him hard in his side and he relinquished his hold on her neck. She glared up at him and fixed her hair.

Kakashi stared wide-eyed at the scene before him.

"You know, you two are so much like them-it's almost disturbing."

"Kakashi-who are you talking about?" Kakashi turned his back to Naruto and Sakura and bent over to light the fire with a mini-Uchiha fireball.

"That seems a little excessive for lighting a fire. . ." Naruto mumbled after watching Kakashi use the jutsu. Sakura glared up at him again.

"BAKA! Stop Complaining! Maybe if you hadn't lit your shoe on fire in the first place, we would already have a fire going by now." Sakura stuck her fist in his face.

"Well that jutsu you used to put out my shoe fire was overkill too. I hadn't planned on needing another bath today-but I got a nice cold one. And by the way, we'd have a fire if you hadn't SOAKED THE LOGS!" Naruto gritted his teeth and glared back down at Sakura.

"MAYBE YOU NEEDED A BATH YOU GIANT MORON! I SAVED YOUR ASS!" The vein in Sakura's forehead was throbbing with her rage.

"HEY! WHO CAUGHT WHO when she was falling from the treetops today! If I hadn't done that, I'd still be nice and clean." Naruto's irises were narrowing to slits and his canines elongated slightly.

"DON'T GET ME STARTED UZUMAKI NARUTO. TWO WORDS. SPOILED. MILK." Kakashi watched mesmerized as the two bickered and as their foreheads got closer and closer together. He wasn't sure whether they were going to kill each other or lock lips. It isn't like Naruto to try to debate back against Sakura like this. Normally he would cover his head immediately when her rage mounted and prepare for the eventual punch that was coming. When he saw the edge of red start to creep into Naruto's eyes, he figured it was time to step in. He moved with lightning reflexes between his two students and separated them. He was positioned so that his back was to Sakura and he faced Naruto.

Unfortunately, for Kakashi, as soon as he obstructed Sakura's face from Naruto's line of sight, instead of the red in Naruto's eyes retracting like Kakashi expected it to, it grew and consumed Naruto's eyes until his body was surrounded by wafting red Chakra. Kakashi heard a low growl come from Naruto's throat.

Fortunately for Kakashi, Sakura's reaction to his butting-in happened first.

"ALRIGHT SENSEI. If you're going to butt in, out with it. WHO DO WE LOOK LIKE HM?" Sakura shoved him hard to the side (no doubt transferring her need to hit something to Kakashi), restoring Naruto's line of sight with her face. The red chakra began to recede. Kakashi noted the change. Naruto was already amped up because they were bickering. I must have incited some territorial instinct in him by getting between them. So then, he wasn't going to fight her? Was he going to kiss her? Has the Kyuubi already begun bonding to her?

The red was rapidly receding from Naruto's eyes. His irises, however, were still slits as he watched Sakura poke him in his chest, which interrupted his analysis of Naruto's behavior. He stared down at Sakura who was directly in front of him.

"So? Who, sensei?"

"First things first" Kakashi said as he walked away to start to boil water for Ramen. "You two must be hungry."

"Stop dodging the question." Naruto said through gritted teeth.

Kakashi sighed for the third time that night.

"You remind me of your masters, Jiraiya-sama and Tsunade-sama." Kakashi said without turning around to see their reaction. He sped up the water boiling process with some of his chakra and proceeded to pour three cups of ramen.

"GAHH! I'm not a pervert Kakas-Sensei!" Naruto's face was contorted in vehement disagreement with Kakashi's statement. Sakura raised her eyebrows in dismay.

"EH! I'm nothing like Shishou! I hate gambling!" Kakashi frowned and turned around to stare at them both with narrowed eyes.

"Sakura, that is probably one of the only things you and the Hokage do not share." Kakashi slowly turned his head back to the fire. Sakura's eyes widened in understanding of what Kakashi was getting at. Naruto still seemed confused as he looked from Kakashi to Sakura and back again. Sakura sighed and sat down on a tree stump next to Kakashi as he crouched beside the fire and prepared the ramen.

Naruto's eyes slowly widened too as he realized what Kakashi must mean. He blushed and looked dumbfounded. His irises had returned to normal.

"Tsunade-baa-chan wants Ero-Sennin? As in. . .she thinks he's hot?!"

"Baka. You really are clueless sometimes. Come and eat."

"Eh? I mean I get it. I know Jiraiya is crazy about granny Tsunade-but I never knew she liked him too." As Naruto finished his statement Kakashi shook his head and lightly patted Sakura on the shoulder. Sakura frowned back at him.

"For a ninja he really is clueless sometimes when it comes to the feelings of women." Kakashi mumbled quietly as he continued stirring.

"Baka." She mumbled softly.

Naruto walked over and sat on a log big enough for two people next to the stump Sakura sat on. Sakura was hurt for a moment because he didn't squeeze next to her on the stump, but she pushed that feeling down. He's just doing that because Kakas-Sensei is here. Right? ARGH! I wish he wasn't so damn clueless.

Kakashi finished stirring the ramen for the three of them and handed them their bowls and chopsticks. Kakashi took a seat next to Naruto on the log. They settled in to eat in silence.

After the first few excruciatingly silent moments, Kakashi, Naruto and Sakura were able to make small talk while they ate. Naruto broke the ice first by asking Kakashi about Guy Sensei and if he knew anything about why Rock Lee and Guy Sensei were running with a dozen eggs each earlier that morning. Kakashi explained that it was Guy Sensei's belief that if they could carry a dozen eggs each without cracking them, it would help them hone their taijutsu skills. The three had a good laugh over that.

The conversation carried on like this while they ate. After they had long since finished eating, Kakashi looked up at the stars.

"It's getting late. We should turn in so we can finish the walk to the bathhouse tomorrow morning." Kakashi went over to his backpack and pulled out his sleeping bag. Sakura got up, stretched and did the same. Naruto remained seated on the log. Kakashi sauntered toward the tent.

"It's too cold for someone to sleep outside the tent tonight-so I'll keep watch with my sharingan. You two look tired, you should both sleep. You will need your rest." He said over his shoulder.

"It's practically summer, Kakas-sensei. Besides, it was so hot last night. Is it really supposed to get that cold tonight?" Naruto already knew the answer. He felt it in his bones earlier when he was changing that it was going to be cold tonight. But, he wanted to keep them from worrying about him.

"Naruto? Where's your sleeping bag?" Sakura scanned the ground for his things and looked back at him.

"Eheheh." Naruto stood up and bashfully ran his fingers through his hair. "I forgot it back at my apartment." Kakashi stopped in his tracks waiting to hear Sakura's response.

"BAKA! Naruto! You'll freeze without your sleeping bag!" As if in confirmation, Naruto shivered noticeably. "Besides, your hair is still damp from earlier. You need to stay warm or you will get sick!"

"I'll just sleep in my clothes." Naruto looked uncomfortable with his own suggestion.

"No, Naruto. Sakura is right. You need to stay warm. I'd say you could share a sleeping bag with me, but mine is mummy style-so I'm pretty sure we both can't fit in mine." Naruto shivered again-not from the cold-from the idea of sharing a sleeping bag with Kakashi and his Icha-Icha dreams.

Kakashi turned to look at Sakura and the sleeping bag she had in her hands. Naruto was looking at his feet. Sakura blushed.

"Sakura's bag looks more than large enough for the two of you. Besides, her body heat should help keep you from shivering too much. It is supposed to dip far below freezing tonight."

The wind picked up a bit and kicked up some dirt with it. Some flecks went up Naruto's nose, causing him to sneeze. Kakashi continued his progress to the tent and went inside.

"Alright, Baka! That's it. We are sharing. Come on." Sakura stomped over to Naruto after pouring water on the fire to put it out and stirring it a bit to spread the ashes. She grabbed his wrist and lead him to the tent. Sakura unzipped the tent and the two found Kakashi already fully zipped into his mummy-style sleeping bag. All that was visible was Kakashi's face with his sharingan exposed and his two hands peeking out as he held an Icha-Icha book inches from his face and read. A small lamp was hanging from above Kakashi's head providing a bit of light. He looked like a giant Kakashi-sushi roll. Kakashi looked up from his book as the two crawled past. "I'll sleep near the entrance to the tent and keep my eye out."

"I thought you said you're keeping watch? How can you do that if you sleep?" Naruto looked at him puzzled.

"I can sleep with my sharingan open in case anything should happen." Kakashi went back to his reading. Naruto was taken aback.

"Have you always been able to do that Kakas-sensei?" Sakura asked him.

"Yes. But, I don't normally use it-but I want to tonight so you can both sleep."

"And he says I'm like Jiraiya. . .perv. . ." Naruto mumbled more to Sakura than to Kakashi, who didn't seem to hear his little remark.

Sakura smirked.

The tent was a decent size and was set up with two 'rooms.' But, as anyone who has been in a tent before knows, these 'rooms' aren't exactly private. There is merely a vertical flap of fabric separating the two sections of the tent. Normally, the division came in handy in Sakura's case so she could have a little privacy from the male members on the team when she changed and vice versa. Tonight, however, both Naruto and Sakura crawled under the flap with Sakura's sleeping bag. Sakura and Naruto had carried their bags in with them so they could change and prepare for bed.

After they crossed under the flap and into the other 'room,' Sakura put down her pack and set out the sleeping bag. Naruto took to removing his jacket. But he kept his back to her the entire time. Tch! It's not like Naruto and I haven't shared sleeping space before! Why is he acting like this. Am I making him that uncomfortable?!

Sakura vetted her frustration a bit as she aggressively unzipped her bag and brought out some flannel pajama pants. Well, I certainly have no shame-and if he is uncomfortable with me-there is no sense in delaying this any longer. With that thought, she pulled her shorts down in one fell swoop leaving her in just panties, her top and a jacket she had since put on while they were eating.

She knew that Naruto still had his back to her as she changed, but she could swear that he was watching her from the corner of his eye and that she saw his eyes widen when she stripped off her shorts. Rather than putting her flannel pajama pants on right away, Sakura decided to see if she could push him a little further. She removed her jacket slowly and set it down, arched her back and slowly unzipped her top and let it fall down her shoulders. The top acting a bit like a corset and flattened her large breasts some so they didn't get in the way during the top was removed, her breasts hung more freely in just her bra.

Despite what Sakura thought, none of this was lost on Naruto, who was trying desperately not to take her into his arms. We can't with Kakashi here. Plus, I want to prove to Sakura that I'm not just some pervert and that this isn't just lust between us. Naruto kept his back to her.

Although she sat on the cushioned floor of the tent in just her green-striped underwear and fairly basic bra-she wasn't cold. She knew she could feel the heat of Naruto's eyes on her skin. Why isn't he reaching for me? She was overcome with desire and perhaps wasn't thinking as clearly as Naruto for once. Kakas-sensei may be here, but Naruto could at least look at me. . .or reach for me! Something!

Well, at least I know he was looking even if it was only for a second. She took a deep breath and drank in the sensation. She stuck her hand inside her bra to make sure her good luck charm was still safely in its place.

As she turned around slowly, Naruto completely had his back to her and somehow, during her changing, he had managed to slip his legs into the far left side of the sleeping bag. Without turning to look at her, he slipped the rest of his body into the sleeping bag and lay curled on his side with his back to her. He was wearing his ridiculous walrus-looking sleeping cap; He didn't say a word. At this, Sakura felt a real pain in her heart.

Why is he being so cold? Does he think I'm being too forward? Did he like the old, shy Sakura better? If so, I've got news Naruto. This is 100% real Sakura. Forwardness and all.

Sakura cast her eyes down and looked at herself. With a feeling of disgust at herself she slipped on her flannel pants and pulled out an oversized long-sleeve t-shirt. She carefully removed her bra from under the long-sleeve t-shirt and folded it around the good-luck charm she always kept with her inside her bra. She put her bra with the rest of her clothes, folded them, and put them near her bag. She brushed her hair, used a damp, cleansing, herbal towlette that Shishou had given her for youthful skin to clean her face and slipped into the right side of the sleeping bag. I'm not giving up. Not yet. Even if his love for me is fading and this is only a passing desire of his, I will give to him willing whatever he will have of me. And, I will protect him to my dying breath, even if it kills me.

"Good night Naruto-Kun."

Naruto didn't answer. She took his sound breathing to mean he was already asleep.

. . . .

Sakura opened her eyes with a start some time later to find the sleeping bag completely empty and Naruto nowhere to be found inside the tent. His jacket was still laying in the same pile he had left it in the night before. The night was deadly still outside without any wind or the sounds of any animals. Sakura grabbed her jacket and crawled through the tent. She noticed that Kakashi was fast asleep and that his sharingan eye was not open.

Shit. Did something happen?

"Kakas-sensei" she whispered his name. Sakura didn't want to try to rouse him too loudly in case an enemy was nearby. He was still fast asleep.

"Kakas-sensei!" she whispered more loudly and this time she placed her hands on his legs and shook him a bit. He didn't move. Her medical senses told her he wasn't injured. He's sleeping like the dead. Is this a Genjitsu? It doesn't feel like one. Sakura tried to release herself all the same.

"Release!" She said quietly. Nope. nothing-definitely not a Genjitsu. What is going on! Where is Naruto? Fear and concern overtook her sense of reason. She moved past her comatose sensei and slipped out of the tent. She slipped on her boots over her flannel pajamas as her eyes adjusted to darkness. There was no moon to provide any help in the darkness. Only the dim light of the stars could help. Luckily, Sakura had learned a little trick from Shishou to help with poor human night-vision. Sakura focused for a second as she redirected a tiny bit of chakra to her eyes. After a few seconds, she could see fairly well in the darkness.

She scanned the campsite and didn't see any sign of Naruto in the vicinity. But she did notice that some of the lavender was trampled all around the edge of the tent-like they were being watched as they slept. Creepy.

It was then that Sakura felt an incredibly large chakra signature coming from the side of the woods opposite where her and Kakashi had collected wood much earlier in the evening. It was one she recognized.

Sakura took off at a jog to the edge of the forest and made her way through the undergrowth along its edge. Once she had cleared through into the woods she squinted to see if she could make out Naruto's form anywhere in the darkness. She didn't see him. But, she could still feel the chakra in the air. She trusted her instincts and kept moving deeper into the woods toward the chakra. After what seemed like an hour of passing tree after tree after tree, Sakura was suddenly on the edge of another clearing. But unlike their camping area, this was just a grassy clearing with no flowers in sight.

She felt her adrenalin surge when she saw the sight in the flattened grass ten feet in front of her. Naruto, surrounded by the largest mass of red chakra she had even seen, had three red fox-shaped chakra tails behind him. His blonde hair had elongated into more defined spikes and the whiskers on his cheeks had darkened. He was writhing on the ground in pain with his head held in his hands. He clutched at his temples and fisted his hair. He was growling and groaning in agony.

"NARUTO!" Sakura moved forward and made a motion to reach out to him. As she progressed toward him, she caught movement further into the center of the clearing. She saw two bright Sharingan staring at them in the darkness. As she squinted her eyes she made out the familiar form of Sasuke. He started to laugh.

Naruto begin writhing more violently. Sakura gritted her teeth in rage as she moved quickly and put herself between Naruto and Sasuke. She clenched her hands into fists. I'm going to kill this fucker once and for all. Sasuke kept laughing and started to walk away. As Sakura stared more closely at Sasuke, he started to vanish like a breeze and slowly he faded into the night and was gone. Sakura was interrupted from her state of confusion caused by Sasuke poofing when Naruto belted out a yell of pain.

She swung around and took leaping steps to him. She collapsed on the ground next to him.

"Can you hear me? It's ok. He's gone. I'm here."

She reached out her hands to touch him, as she did, the red chakra of the Kyuubi expanded to enclose her. Sakura's skin began to burn. She winced in pain, but she continued to reach for Naruto. Once her hands made contact with his face-the violent writhing stopped and he finally opened his eyes, which were completely red, from the irises to the whites. His hands still clutched at his temples and hair. He looked at her without seeing her. Sakura's eyes welled up with tears.

"Naruto?" She clutched at his cheeks as his eyes moved around madly like he had heard her, but was searching for her with his eyes. Sakura took her hands and began scanning his body for any injuries. Her eyes passed over her own arm and she noticed the skin was starting to peel and fall off from the wafting Kyuubi Chakra. She ignored her own pain and focused on Naruto. Her medical nin senses told her he didn't have any surface injuries, but that he was bleeding internally from every chakra point. She could hear that his heart was struggling to maintain a pulse.

Thump. . . . . .Thump . . . . . Thump.

"NO! Naruto?" She brought her hands back up to his face again and looked in his blood-red-eyes. He opened his mouth like he was going to speak.

"Sa . . .ku. . .ra." His voice was barely audible. Tears were now streaming down Sakura's face.

"Naruto. Listen to me. You-you're going to be okkk." She put her forehead to his.

"You can't die on me. I won't let you."

Just as she said that she felt one of Naruto's arms weakly embrace her. For a second, the blood in his eyes completely receded and his eyes were back to that wonderful, passionate blue that she loved. He saw her and looked right into her eyes.

"Thank you, Sakura." He smiled weakly and then closed his eyes. His hand dropped from her back and fell limply to the ground. She heard his pulse slow.

Thump. . . . . . . . . . .Thump. . . . . . . . . . . .

It Stopped.

"Naruto!?" Sakura gripped his cheeks more firmly and shook him. A wail escaped from her mouth.

"NARUTO!" Sakura screamed as tears flooded down her face. She was overcome with unbelievable pain in her chest-a knife right to the heart. She couldn't breath. She couldn't see or hear. She just felt pain. No. I won't let this happen. I. REFUSE. You will not die. Sakura could feel a wall of her own green healing chakra flood from her pores.

"Naruto! You BAKA! You will not die!"

Then, just as she moved to embrace him, she woke up.

…...

Sakura opened her eyes and found herself back in the tent in her sleeping bag. It was still dark outside the tent. Her heart was pounding. It was just a dream. It was just a dream. Naruto is ok. He is right beside me. Right here.

She was facing her side of the tent with her back to Naruto. As she came fully to her senses, she started to turn her body to make sure Naruto was beside her. Before she could finish turning, she felt two strong and warm arms wrap around her-one slipped under her body and right hip to rest there and one came over the top of her left hip and gripped her stomach. She felt the arms pull her body back.

The hairs stood up on the back of her neck as she felt her back make contact with heat. She could feel his pectorals against her shoulder blades as his arms squeezed her-a tiny pang of coolness as the stone of the 1st's necklace that Shishou had given Naruto pressed against her. She felt breathing on her neck and then in her ear: She felt his fox whiskers tickle her skin. Naruto.

"I'm here Sa-ku-ra-Chan. You were just dreaming." She felt his breath in her ear as he whispered and then on her neck. The breathing got heavier. Then she felt his soft lips and his tongue on her skin. O! The strength and heat and size of his body surrounded her. Her body was wide awake now. He feels so good.

Naruto kissed her neck very softly and left a little wetness with his tongue. Sakura sucked in a breath at his touch and arched her butt and body into him. She felt him tense up like he was unsure of how to react. Then she realized why-her butt made contact with something very hard. Is he being shy? She rubbed her ass against him again. His teeth grazed her neck.

Naruto tightened his grip on her and pulled her even closer so her body was flush up against his. She could feel his erection throbbing against her and his heart pounding in his chest. He kissed her neck again this time with more force. He sucked on her skin. Sakura arched into him again. He bit down on the soft flesh of her neck-but not hard enough to draw blood. Sakura felt claimed. She wanted to be his and only his.

"Na-ru-to."

He began to suck harder on her neck-no doubt hard enough that a mark would be there later-a mark that Sakura was his. Sakura could feel every cell in her body being lit on fire. She brought her arms down-and touched his thighs behind her. She felt him shove his face further into the crook of her neck. His golden hair tickled her cheek. She just barely heard a muffled moan. Sakura felt a rush of heat between her thighs at his noise.

She moved her hands up his thighs. Before she could make contact with what she so desperately wanted to touch-he pulled her tighter to him and rolled her body so she was practically laying on top of him-which in turn-forced her to remove her hands out from behind herself. She had never felt so close to anyone-and so exposed and vulnerable to his hands at the same time. She could feel the entire length of him against her. She could feel the size of his erection. Sakura felt another surge between her legs. She knew she already must be embarrassingly wet for him.

He slowly brought up his right hand from its place gripping her hip-first over her stomach where he splayed out his palm. He slowed his hand's progress as he reached her breasts, which were hanging freely under her over-sized night-shirt. Sakura's nipples had come to points and were pleading against her shirt for Naruto to touch her. He angled his hand so it slid smoothly in between her breasts. his thumb touched the edge of one breast and his pinky touched the other. He just grazed them. He's teasing me. As his arm continued its progress up her body, his arm had to bend and the muscle of Naruto's forearm squeezed her breasts closer together.

"Naruto." His mouth made contact with her ear and his tongue grazed it.

"Shhhhhhh . . ." He whispered.

His hand continued its progress up her chest; as his hand reached her neck-he put his hands around her throat-gently-claiming her again. He touched her cheek and then gently covered her mouth with his palm. What is he doing! I feel so helpless. Naruto! His mouth found its way to her neck again where he resumed sucking and sucking until Sakura thought she might die.

Her eyes went wide when he moved his left hand down her stomach and slide it over her thigh. Sakura was rubbing against his erection as it strained against his pants. Naruto gripped her thigh with his hand. His mouth left her neck and he whispered in her ear again.

"Do you have any idea how hard it was to resist you when you were getting undressed earlier? Sa-ku-ra?" Without missing a beat, Naruto slide his hand under her flannel pajama bottoms and onto the bare skin of her thigh. He moved his hand slowly up the top part of her thigh until he reached the bottom edge of her underwear. He ran his fingertips right along the edge of the fabric moving his fingers so just the very very edge of his index and middle finger went beneath the fabric. Sakura was moaning into his hand. What is he doing!?

He kept going-on the top of her thigh, down her inner thigh and right beside the part of her that wanted to be the closest to him. Sakura cried out into his hand. It's like he already has the map to my body. Sakura could feel herself soaking her panties and she knew there was no hiding this from Naruto. As if answering her-she heard Naruto suck in his breath when he felt the damp heat that soaked her underwear.

"I want you Sa-ku-ra Chan. So, very badly." He whispered into her ear and rotated his hips up so his erection pushed into her body again-hard. Sakura heard him moan very softly as he did so.

"We just can't act on this yet." Sakura agreed with him at least partly-Kakashi sensei was still sleeping next to them after all.

He kissed her neck again and withdrew his hand from her flannel pajamas as he said: "Not. yet."

O no, Naruto. Not without at least a kiss. MY TURN.

Sakura quickly maneuvered so she was on top of him, but she strategically kept the sleeping bag around them both. The fabric draped over her like a cape.

She sat up and straddled him. He looked surprised and confused-that ridiculous expression that was so characteristic of her baka, Naruto. Now who's helpless!

She moved her hips down so her heat was positioned directly over his erection. The look of confusion on Naruto's face was washed away by a deep and passionate stare she had never seen from him. There was such a fire in Naruto's eyes. The crystalline blue of his eyes looked electric in the dim light as dusk grew outside. He is so unbelievably handsome. He also looked older to her somehow. Nothing like the idiotic kid she had grown up with.

She brought her hand to his cheek; he closed his eyes at the contact. He moved his hands up to grip her hips and spread his fingers on her back and brought her torso down to his. Sakura was now laying flat on top of him-with her legs still straddling him.

Their chests aligned as she bent forward and as her face came closer, Naruto lifted his head a bit and captured her mouth in a furious and deep kiss. His arms and hands wrapped around her back as he smashed her body into his. She could feel all of him against her body-inch for inch. His tongue entered her mouth freely and her tongue met his. She moaned softly into the kiss. He squeezed her again and broke the kiss.

He gripped her hips again and rolled to his right so they were on their sides again. Their legs were tangled together and their faces an inch apart. He continued to stare into Sakura's eyes with that indescribable expression. It was definitely a look of love.

Love is not a strong enough word to describe how he's looking at me now. She kissed him again-more softly this time. His face took on a look of surprise again- an almost school-boy sort of sort of surprise. Everytime I kiss him-he thinks it is the first and the last time. He still doesn't believe me. I'll prove my love to him and then he won't be so surprised anymore. Sakura brought her hand to Naruto's cheek and whispered.

"Not yet." He smirked at her and kissed her forehead and wrapped his arms around her-creating this little cocoon for them. They fell back asleep together as the early morning light grew outside the tent.

…...

Sometime around what they guessed was 9am, they were woken up by the sound of coughing and someone clearing his throat rather loudly. They opened their eyes to find themselves still embracing in Sakura's sleeping bag and very much a tangle of arms and legs and warmth and comfort. Naruto grunted at the rude awakening.

"Keehhhh too early." He mumbled without opening his eyes and with a rather raspy morning voice. He pulled Sakura closer to him. Sakura opened her eyes and peeked around the edge of Naruto's arms as they formed a barrier between her and the rest of the world. She saw one normal eye and one Sharingan staring down at them from the foot of the sleeping bag.

"GEH! KAKAS-SENSEI!" Sakura yelled. Naruto jolted from Sakura's exclamation and after untangling their arms he began flailing his like a bird preparing for flight. The couple immediately sat up in the sleeping bag.

"PERV! WHAT ARE YOU DOING WATCHING US SLEEP KAKAS-SENSEI!" Naruto stopped his flailing and pointed accusingly at Kakashi. Naruto was wearing his angry walrus sleeping cap again, which confused Sakura because he didn't have it on during their little interlude last night. Must have put it back on after I fell asleep. Baka! Why does he have to be so fucking adorable! Sakura was glowing like an idiot as she looked at Naruto-who was still looking at Kakashi with suspicion and narrowed eyes.

Kakashi leaned forward even more from his kneeling position at the foot of the sleeping bag so he was further into their personal space and put one hand flat on top of the sleep bag next to their tangled legs.

"Well, I assume you two had fun last night-but no nookie yet right, Naruto?"

Sakura turned her head mechanically from observing Naruto to Kakashi-her face had changed from one of adoration and affection for Naruto to one of pure, unadulterated rage. She brought her right fist up and socked Kakashi across the jaw-who was sent sprawling into the back of the tent, which promptly collapsed on top of the trio.

"AHNOSA! AHNOSA! KAKAS-SENSEI! THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" Naruto was a few seconds late on his response as the tent flattened onto his head. Kakashi slowly righted himself from his pancaked position against the tent wall and quickly used chakra to repair the damaged pole that caused the collapse. Sakura was scrambling in her tangled sleeping bag and tent fabric to get to Kakashi so she could strangle him.

"Ah. I'll just leave you two to get ready. We need to head to the hotsprings. The rest of the team is waiting." Kakashi crawled out of the tent as quickly as possible after fixing the pole. Naruto had never seen him move so fast-not even in fights with Itachi.

Sakura growled beside him.

"WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS!?"

"A younger ero-sennin apparently." They had both slipped out of the sleeping bag in the chaos.

Naruto frowned and then stretched. Naruto took off his sleeping cap and put on his jacket. Sakura forgot that he had basically slept in his clothes-so he didn't need to do much to get ready. He kneeled like he was getting ready to leave the tent. After he finished slipping on his jacket, he surprised her by kissing her and holding her cheeks in his hands. He broke the kiss and Sakura saw a flicker of the passion she saw in his eyes from the previous night.

"Sakura-chan. I'm going to go make us some food. We really should get going." Sakura knew he was right-but she wished they could have just stayed in their little world of the sleeping bag together a bit longer.

"Mm. I'll finish getting ready." She touched his cheek and Naruto's face spread into a huge grin. He laughed his devious little laugh, grabbed his pack and crawled out.


	6. Wet, Steamy, and Sandy?

Chapter 6: Wet, Steamy, and Sandy?

After Naruto left the tent, Sakura sighed to herself. It's going to be a while before we can be alone again, I think. ARGH! CHAAA! My desire for him is getting more and more powerful! This might require some sneaking around at the hotsprings. She felt a devious smile spread across her face and her eyes were sparkling with the thought of Naruto in a hot spring and completely naked, and wet. Drool was forming at the corners of her mouth. She shook her head to snap out of it.

She heard a crash come from outside the tent.

"CHIKUSHO!" Naruto is swearing; sounds like he dropped something on his foot. BAKA! I should get other there and make sure he doesn't light himself on fire again. Sakura focused on her task of getting ready for the day.

Instead of changing into fresh undergarments and a new outfit, Sakura decided to just put on the same clothes she had on yesterday and keep her still damp (from last night) green striped underwear on as they progressed to the hotsprings. I'll feel more refreshed after I have a chance for a hot bath and shower up there anyway.

She made quick work of brushing her hair so it was a little more presentable, put her ninja headband back in its place and rolled up her sleeping bag and started to seal up her backpack. As she was just about to zip it shut, she noticed the bottle of body spray she put in her bag before leaving her apartment a day earlier. She took it out and gave herself a good spray. The light and airy scent of cherry blossoms and honey flooded her nose. It was a scent that Ino's family had especially made at their flowershop for her for her last birthday. She was named after this particular flower after all. The scent also further helped to snap her out of her Naruto-induced stupor.

I really need to focus if we are going on a mission. Not to mention I feel a little gross right now. I can't wait to wash my hair! Sakura remembered Sai mentioning a few weeks ago that she had really ugly, oily hair and she wanted to punch him from across the forest all over again. But, he was out on his own mission with Yamato, Kiba, and Hinata. She punched her bag instead. Pfft oily my ass! Man I have too much pent up energy! There must be something in the air these past few days.

Once she stepped outside the tent and slipped her feet into her boots, she noticed that Naruto had warmed up the rest of sticky-bean buns they bought in Konoha yesterday. They were pierced like marshmallows on skewers and leaning neatly over a small camping pot that looked as though it contained oatmeal. It also seemed as though Naruto had managed, successfully, to not set himself on fire for the second time in less than 24 hours.

Sakura continued to survey the campsite and noticed that most of it had been packed up and put away, except for the tent. She noticed that Kakashi was leaning against a nearby tree reading his Icha-Icha book. He was munching on a sticky bun as he read. His own backpack was neatly assembled next to him. Sakura dropped her newly sealed backpack on the ground next to the tent entrance.

She turned her eyes back to the fire near where Naruto was standing; the fire was smoking slightly as though it were just doused with water and Naruto was stirring the ashes to put the embers out completely. He had his back to her, but from the way he stood up taller suddenly, she knew he was aware that she had exited the tent. He stirred the fire again. The embers of the dying fire flared up a bit in response. It would still be a few minutes before they were entirely out. Sakura found herself staring at Naruto's back and the way his shoulders moved as he stirred the embers. Focus!

She peeled her eyes off of his back and looked more thoroughly around the rest of the campsite. Looks like it's just the tent that's left. Her eyes traced over the trees as they moved slightly in a breeze that swept by. She gazed up at the sky. Not a cloud was in sight. Looks like today will be another beautiful day. Despite the cold they dealt with the night before, it was unseasonably warm again for what Sakura guessed was about 9:30 in the morning and it was only early summer. Especially in the woods at this time of year, it was usually still a bit chilly. I have a feeling today will be another hot and sticky sort of day. heheh. If only we were walking the rest of the way alone, then I could really show Naruto what hot and sticky feels like! Sakura smirked at her own perverted thoughts and looked around like she was afraid one of her two companions could hear her.

But, she realized after she was done behaving like Ero-Sennin, that the summer solstice was fast approaching, which meant that the heat would only increase (and likely so would her desire for her baka-yarou). It appeared that she was safe and neither Naruto nor Kakashi had picked up on her private imagery of a very naked Naruto; plus, she was now almost fully distracted by Kakashi's earlier comments about the solstice.

Sakura furrowed her brow as she remembered what he said about the solstice approaching and her need to care more for Naruto for some reason. What was he talking about anyway? Other solstices have come and gone and Kakashi has never mentioned anything like this before. Sakura quivered a bit as she remembered her dream.

The frightening image of Naruto bleeding out internally before her eyes as he was engulfed by the Kyuubi's chakra darkened her vision of intimacy with him. She flinched as she thought of him suffering and dying in her arms. She felt a pang in her heart as she remembered how terrifyingly real the dream had felt and how harrowing and final his death had felt. It felt as though she would die from agony beside him in that moment. But it was just a dream! Naruto was fine and very much alive. Her eyes had found their way back to Naruto as he stood in front of the fire, needing to confirm that he was fine.

Her troubled thought process was thankfully interrupted when she noticed Naruto had looked up from stirring the fire and was staring at her. It's like he knows just when I need him most. I might always call him baka, but there isn't anyone like Naruto when it comes to reading people.

When she met his eyes, his face spread into a ridiculous grin. His face also colored quite a bit. Is he trying to cheer me up again? He really is shy about this isn't he? Sakura could feel color touch her own face. Hard and soft, childish and un-godly powerful, innocent and so so devious. . .my Naruto. She could feel herself swooning over him. I don't think Kakashi needs to worry about me trying extra hard to protect him until the solstice. Hell, I'd like to attach myself to him right now, just so I can feel his body against mine. And no way in hell would I ever let anything happen to him. Kyuubi or otherwise. Sakura blushed as she realized that now she too must be wearing an idiotic grin.

Again, there was the sound of someone clearing his throat rather loudly.

"Eat up you two, we need to get going." Kakashi announced without looking up from his book-shattering their little moment. Sakura stood up straighter and marched herself over to the food without looking up at Naruto again.

"Hai." She sat down on the two-person log after grabbing a skewered sticky bun. Naruto grabbed the small pot of oatmeal, a sticky bun and walked over to the log. He hesitated for a second like he still wasn't quite used to this new way of being around Sakura.

She eyed him with raised eyebrows. It's not like we didn't ever sit next to each other before! Now that I've planted a kiss on those lips of his he looks like a lost puppy. I take back what I said about him being so good at reading people. He is a moron.

Sakura sighed and took a sizable bite out of her sticky bun. Naruto finally sat down beside her. As he did so, she could feel his thigh make contact with her own. She felt goosebumps rise on her skin. Guess I'm still not used to it either. Sakura munched harder on the sticky bun.

"Sakura-chan do you want any oatmeal?" Naruto had placed two spoons in the pot of oatmeal as he offered it to her. As she was still chewing, she gazed at the oatmeal.

She swallowed.

"Yes. Thank you Naruto. . .kun." As she took the pot from him, she held the skewer holding her sticky bun in between her thighs. She had no trouble keeping the skewer firm between her thighs given the tone she had on her quadriceps.

Naruto found himself staring at her thighs as she held the skewer in place. Tch! Why am I looking at her thighs like this? All she is doing is holding the skewer. Naruto thought of feeling her legs squeezing tightly around his hips. He thought of her thighs covered with moisture from the hot springs. He thought of her thighs covered with . . .

It wasn't helping that he could feel the muscle in her left thigh clenching as he sat next to her. His painfully unsatisfied erection was making a comeback. Kuso! Not now. Naruto tried to punch the urge back down. It feels like it's getting worse with each touch from her! If I don't take her soon, I don't know if I can hold out like this. Maybe it would be better if I avoided her until I can act on it? At this point I'm really afraid that I won't be able to hold myself back much longer.

His desire for her was reaching a fever pitch and because they were out on a mission, he hadn't had any alone time to masturbate to relieve a bit of the pressure. Sakura seemed unaware of him salivating over her as she munched on the oatmeal.

From across the campsite, Kakashi was watching Naruto and Sakura intently from behind his Icha-Icha book. They are turning into an Icha-Icha couple with all this sexual tension. It seems unlikely that they can hang on much longer; and as much as I'd like material to start my own dramatic-crazy-romance series, I need to protect them. We need to hurry up and meet with Jiraiya-sama as soon as possible. In the meantime, I need to keep their minds off of it. Kakashi shut his book and stood up.

"Alright you two, I'm going to take down the tent. Take a few more bites and then we need to get moving."

"Che. Kakas-sensei! What's the rush?" Naruto looked up from his Sakura-induced haze. Kakashi sighed.

"Think about it, Naruto. The more time we give Jiraiya-sama at the hotsprings, the more time he has to conduct his 'research' which will only distract him from what we are actually supposed to be doing, the mission." Kakashi was crouched over the tent, collapsing it.

"Gah! That's right! We can't let ero-sennin get too wrapped up in being a perv or he won't ever help us with this mission. It will be like the beginning of my training with him all over again. . ." Naruto's voice trailed off at the end of his statement and he made a grumbling noise as he took the remainder of his sticky bun into his mouth. Sakura rolled her eyes at his complaints.

"So what is this mission about exactly, Kakas-sensei?" Sakura had sated herself on the oatmeal and was now very pointedly looking at Kakashi's face as he finished extracting the poles from the tent. She placed the pot of oatmeal on the ground by her feet and removed the skewer with her sticky bun from its position between her thighs. Kakashi paused in the middle of his tent-collapsing and looked from Sakura to Naruto and back again. He sighed.

"I suppose there's no point in keeping the two of you completely in the dark any longer. The mission directly concerns your relationship with Naruto and . . ." Sakura flinched at Kakashi's statement and Naruto choked on his sticky bun for a second as he swallowed the last of it.

"What do you mean Kakas-sensei?" Naruto asked with the raised and confused voice that was characteristic of him when he was taken off guard. That particular expression of his had always made Sakura think of the face Naruto gave when Sai was trying to get a little too 'physical' and hug him.

"Wait, my relationship with Naruto and what?" Sakura asked again.

Kakashi began to roll the tent up and as he did so, he turned his head so he broke eye contact with his two former students.

"Your relationship and the Kyuubi."

Both Naruto and Sakura were frozen in place after Kakashi's last words. Hearing her sensei mention the Kyuubi, Sakura couldn't help but think again about the terrifying dream she had-and a sudden sinking feeling that there might be more to it than just her mind running amok.

Naruto's confused and goofy expression fell. He leaned forward with his forearms on his knees and clasped his hands together. He hung his head and looked down. Sakura could no longer see his face. Why is he so quiet all of a sudden? Does he have an idea what Kakas-sensei means? Sakura looked from Naruto to Kakashi and back again. She reached her hand out to touch him-she hesitated and withdrew it. At that moment Naruto stood up.

"What does the Fox have to do with . . .this?" Naruto asked with a controlled monotone. His jaw was set and his arms were crossed in a simultaneously firm but uncertain way.

Kakashi watched their reactions closely: Sakura's arm dropping back into her lap-her eyes cast down; Naruto standing-his angular jaw, the consternation in his brow. This is still hanging on a razor's edge. They are such fools. Kakashi decided-again-to cut straight through the tension. He narrowed his eyes at his two former students.

"Naruto, Sakura. Do you remember the training that Naruto went through to first learn how to create his rasen-shuriken with Yamato? And that we needed Yamato to help control the Kyuubi for Naruto until he built up some of his own ability to control it?"

Kakashi took their silence for acknowledgement. He saw Sakura slowly lift her eyes. They were filled with determination.

"Well, what Yamato told you, Sakura, that only his wood style in combination with the First's necklace that Naruto wears around his neck are capable of holding back the Kyuubi is not true . . . There is another way."

Sakura's eyes narrowed in deeper determination and an edge of shock. She was now standing too and grasping the empty skewer that once held her sticky-bun-breakfast with a clenched fist. Her glove was causing friction against the metal, making a frrrrpp noise.

She said slowly: "What do you mean Kakas-sensei? Why would I need to know this now? More importantly, why the hell are you only telling me about this now if I could have used it in the past to heal and protect Naruto from the Kyuubi." Sakura's voice was rising in anger and frustration.

Naruto was silent but listening and watching Kakashi intently. The intensity of Naruto's gaze practically bored a hole right through Kakashi's eyes and skull. He really has a Kage's will.

". . .I apologize, Sakura. But, it wasn't something you were ready to learn yet. Nor was it something that would have worked on Naruto and the Kyuubi before he learned how to control his relationship with it a bit himself. More importantly, it's something only you can learn to use to protect Naruto. For you to be together, you must learn this way. It will take incredible focus and control on your part, Sakura, more than even you, who was trained by the legendary Tsunade is used to. . .It will also take incredible trust between you and Naruto."

Sakura turned her intense gaze toward Naruto for a moment. With blinding fierceness, his eyes met hers and Kakashi felt like he was watching two lasers or the powerful wrath of two heavenly bodies point at one another. But neither did the look shatter, nor did it incite a fight. Their eyes met with an awe-inspiring ferocity and they held the gaze and then looked back at him to explain. Jiraiya-sama doesn't know how right he was and just how necessary these two being together must be. It has to happen.

As Naruto stared at Kakashi, something at the corner of Naruto's mind was twitching, bothering his temples. They were starting to pound. He winced for a second and re-focused on the conversation. Damn kit is trying to butt into the conversation again. Naruto rubbed his temples with his fingertips briefly and then dropped his hands so as not to suggest anything was amiss.

Kakashi caught the slight pain on Naruto's face as quickly as it vanished. I can't speak about this anymore until we get him to Jiraiya-sama. It's too risky.

With that, Kakashi had finished sealing up the tent and stood up.

"You will have to wait to hear the rest from Jiraiya, I'm afraid." Sakura opened her mouth and cracked the joint at her neck to indicate her distaste for Kakashi keeping mum on the subject, but Naruto suddenly brought his hand up and meditatively closed his eyes.

"Let's wait for Jiraiya, Sakura. I need rest and a chance to think and I know you do too." Naruto systematically put his nearby backpack over his shoulders and started to leave the campsite. Sakura was frustrated, hurt, and confused. I wonder if this is how Naruto used to always feel? But at that moment, she was also aware of the warmth and awe she felt for Naruto growing ever stronger. Something about the way he just told her to wait put her at peace and dispelled her own temper and misgivings about what was just discussed.

Kakashi took one last calculating gaze at his students as Naruto made his way to the road. Ever does he calm her nerves and she keeps him moving forward.

Sakura caught Kakashi looking at them with focus and she exchanged one sharp glance with him and they made the final adjustments to the campsite, collected their bags and the tent and caught up with Naruto on the final stretch of road to the Hotsprings.

The rest of the walk to the hotsprings passed by for the trio fairly quickly. Nothing more was spoken of the Kyuubi or Naruto and Sakura's growing bond.

It might have been the growing heat or the nearing silhouette of the hotsprings bath houses as they made the final climb up and past the treeline as it swept around the path, but Sakura had all but forgotten about her conversation with Kakashi and Naruto back at the campsite earlier that morning. It was almost noon when they finally saw the bathhouse come into view.

The bathhouse was set up in an palatial feudal building that had been located at the apex of the hotsprings as they rolled out of the mountains in the distance for hundreds of years. The mountain range that composed the northern border of the land of fire on one side cut into the sky behind the bathhouse and created a half-moon bowl that sheltered the building; it could only really be approached from the small foot-path they were currently on.

It was a surprisingly fortifiable place for an old bathhouse. Sakura often wondered if it had been used as such in prior ninja wars, though she was never able to find any documentation on it in the libraries in Konoha.

Regardless of the beauty and practicality of the building, Sakura was flat-out relieved to finally be getting a chance for a nice bath and shower. The trio was sweaty and Sakura knew that she was at least downright smelly. She had purposely starting walking so that Kakashi was between her and Naruto so she didn't have to risk Naruto catching a whiff of her.

God I am turning into such a little wuss! All this because I want to keep him coming back. What is wrong with me!? I never gave a shit about stuff like this before. Not to mention, I'm pretty sure Naruto's sensitive nose can smell me anyway. . .CHANARO! I am such a moron. Sakura sighed and smacked herself in the forehead.

She came away with an even sweatier hand and she decided to remove her Konoha headband and let her soaked hair fall in a heap about her face. Kakashi and Naruto both gave her sidelong glances as they made the final 50 foot journey to the door of the hotsprings.

Even Kakashi had taken off his vest and was down to just his one piece bodysuit/mask combination that he always wore and his ninja pants, though they were rolled up high on his calves.

Naruto had long since removed his jacket and was just wearing the red t-shirt he had put on in his apartment the day before after the spilled milk incident. The t-shirt was sticking to him in a few places due to his own sweat; despite the heat, he still wore his Konoha headband on his forehead. Somehow, Sakura thought, sweat is so much more attractive on Naruto than anyone else, in fact part of the reason Sakura had decided to walk so that Kakashi was between them was so she wouldn't end up gawking at Naruto the entire rest of the way to the hotsprings.

As they reached the front door of the Hotsprings, a little old woman walked out to greet them; Sakura felt a gush of cold air issue from inside the building as the woman came out. She sighed as it blew across her face.

"Welcome! Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto I presume? I'm Nakamura Kagome, but you can call me granny-Kagome if you like. Jiraiya-kun is waiting for you!" The little old lady bowed, smiled, and gestured that they follow her back inside. Sakura and Kakashi respectfully nodded in response, Naruto merely raised his eyebrows. The three began to follow her.

"Eh? Jiraiya-KUN?!" Naruto whispered loudly. "Nee! Kakas-sensei, what is that old lady talking about? Who calls Jiraiya...kun?"

Kakashi sighed for what seemed to him like the fiftieth time on this trip and whispered as he spoke.

"Let's just say, Kagome-sama's family has always owned this hotspring and Kagome, who has gotten used to Jiraiya's visits over time, began to believe that he was really here to visit her because he kept coming back."

"Che." Naruto rolled his eyes and stretched as the trio walked into the waiting area of the hotsprings and removed their shoes. They were greeted by a very young housemaid dressed similarly to Kagome who took their shoes and bags. In all the years that Naruto and Sakura had had missions in and around the bathhouse, they had never actually had the opportunity to be among its pampered guests before.

The inside of the bathhouse was adorned with dark wood trim, a fountain in the center of the waiting area and a few meditation shrines were set up with soothing incense burning. Comfy pillows and tatami mats and blankets offered warm seating on the floor. To the left was a barren and austere concierge desk adorned with just one very well tended pink orchid in a pot. The ceilings of the main room were high, at least 25 feet, a-frame style with exposed wood beams, with floor to ceiling windows on both sides with and rice paper doors in their midst that led out to the balcony on the perimeter of the structure.

As the trio looked further into the large greeting area they saw little old Kagome at the back near a hallway as it lead off deeper into the bathhouse. The stairs leading up and down were to her left as she angled her body down the hallway to her right. Kagome announced over her shoulder as she angled: "Please allow Kisa to take your things to your rooms for you. Jiraiya-kun has asked that you all relax completely while you are here. The bedrooms are all upstairs, the entrances to the baths are this way on the main floor. We have one bath for men, one for women, and two special and more intimate bath sections, one for couples and one for private request. However, both of the special baths are by request only and cost extra. There are also small private showers and bathrooms in each of the suites upstairs. Jiraiya has had the upstairs rooms organized especially for your mission." Sakura and Naruto exchanged glances at that comment.

Kagome-ba-chan made her way down the hallway; the trio lagged behind as they followed her so they could chat. As rounded one corner, they could smell the bath salts and feel the steam coming from the bath entrances down the hall. Sakura found herself leading the way with Naruto and Kakashi behind her. She turned and whispered over her shoulder.

"You mean she doesn't really know about Ero-Jiraiya Sama's habits?" Kakashi only shook his head.

"How long has she thought Jiraiya was after her?" Naruto chimed in.

"About fifteen years." Both Sakura and Naruto's jaws dropped.

"I guess Tsunade-shishou really has never joined Jiraiya-sama officially at the bathouse." Sakura mumbled. She should really seize her chance with the old cook and set this old lady straight before she loses him for good.

They turned a corner and saw two doors before them with steam issuing noticeably from around the doors. One door had the character for female carved into it, the other had the character for male. Nearby were several shelves that housed an assortment of clean and neatly folded towels.

"Here are the entrances to the male and female separated bathing areas. Before you enter, it's best to change into just a robe and your shoes so you don't have as much to put in the shelf on the other side of these doors where you undress. Also, be sure to take a clean, fresh towel each time you enter the baths, we want to keep you as clean and comfortable as possible. Feel free to take two if you like, but please take no more than 3 towels each time you enter. Please remember to clean yourself completely in the showering area before entering the baths. Finally, please keep in mind that the water for the baths are naturally occurring and out in the elements, so you might experience rain; also, although we do monitor the temperature of the springs in case they become too hot and check for unhealthy levels of sulfur and other naturally occurring gases, please use your own best judgment as well." Kagome gestured to the doors and then turned back to make eye contact with the trio.

"Any questions so far?"

"Ye-" Kakashi had started to ask. But Kagome cut him off.

"O, that reminds me! The bathing areas are nude. So, please, do not wear any sort of towel or other fabric into the bath with you. Limited jewelry is fine, but please no makeup either. For dinner and other meals, we generally bring the meals to your suites or rooms, but for those who wish to join with other guests, the restaurant is just down the hall past these bath doors." Kagome pointed past the doors to the hallway as it continued and turned left.

"There is a lovely balcony and outdoor seating area in the restaurant that allows our guests to look at the tranquility of the spring as it comes down from the mountains behind us. Any questions?" She turned to them again.

"Yes, ho-" Kakashi was cut off again by Kagome who seemed to be deaf. Naruto and Sakura raised their eyebrows at the second interruption. Kakashi sighed-time 51 by his count over the past few days.

"Ah! Outdoors, the male and female bathing areas themselves are separated by a fence for your convenience. Jiraiya-kun also often tells me that the most beautiful foliage grows right along the fence-line. We do have some climbing ivy and rather lovely spanish moss that you may want to peruse along the fence-line if you so choose. Jiraiya-kun often does so. Any questions?"

Naruto coughed like he had a bug caught in his throat. Sakura made a screwball face at Kagome. Kakashi stared blankly and thought of all the legendary konoha pervs that have peeped through the same fence over the years-and the climbing ivy and spanish whatever had nothing to do with it. She really has no clue how see-through this fence is supposed to be does she? No wonder it's never been repaired over the years.

"EH? Any questions?" She asked again more loudly this time like they were the ones who were hard of hearing.

Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura were thunderstruck with silence as they began to grasp just how clueless Kagome must actually be. She continued to stare at them. They stared back. Naruto's cheek twitched and he opened his mouth like he was about to ask a really inappropriate question. Kakashi seemed content to let it happen. Sakura intercepted it.

"Actually, Kagome-ba-chan, would it be possible for you to show us to our rooms? We are pretty tired and I would personally love a chance to take a shower." Sakura used her louder, outside voice so Kagome could hear her.

"Of course dear! Right this way, everyone." With that Kagome lead them back down the same hallway into the entrance area and then up the stairs.

"Mm. Kagome-ba-chan? What's in the lower levels downstairs?" Naruto asked loudly as they mounted the first five steps.

"O, well in addition to the main restaurant and dining area we have on the main level past the bathing doors, we have a small sake bar downstairs, which doesn't usually open until after dinner hours around 8pm; it stays open until 5am, however, for our late drinkers. There is secluded seating for couples who want privacy. The main pump and cleaning area for monitoring the springs' water is also down there as well as two small sauna rooms-by request only-and a few storage areas. Of course, only the bar is available for all guests and the saunas by request. The other areas are explicitly off-limits!" Kagome fell silent as they mounted another seven steps.

"I guess I should mention that we do encourage couples to enjoy our facilities and attain bliss together. But, please remember that the walls upstairs and on the main level are thin!" She paused to turn back to them with a cooky and devilish smile. Naruto flinched and curled his lip up non-verbally communicating some disgusting image he was thinking of. Sakura turned red and began twisting her dirty locks of hair and Kakashi merely cleared his throat-again.

After finally reaching the top of the steep flight of stairs, they emerged into a hallway with floor to ceiling windows and doors leading to another balcony. The glass panes of the windows and doors were carved with a large feudal scene of a man chasing a woman through a forest. He chased her from one window to the next and onto a door; she'd turn around and smile coyly at him as he chased her. The man had dog-like ears in his long hair and the woman had blossoms in her hair. The afternoon sunlight was shining in through all the carved glass and creating shadows and crystalline reflections on the wood floor.

"Beautiful!" Sakura mumbled as she looked at the patterns created by the glass.

Naruto stretched and let out a sigh of relaxation as he reached the last step behind her. Kakashi was silent.

"This way! Jiraiya has arranged several rooms for your group. The other guests are already here and should be around somewhere to greet you." Kagome walked past the first six or so doors that appeared to house smaller rooms.

After she was done staring at the glass carving, Sakura looked past the glass to the wide balcony outside and noticed a few lounge chairs-some specifically designed for couples-positioned outside in the afternoon sun. They each had small tables with umbrellas to provide optional shade.

She noticed three or four other guests sunbathing on a few chairs. As they passed the eighth and ninth doors along the hallway and the doors became double-doors (no doubt to suites), Sakura noticed something familiar. On one of the couple-seating lounge-chairs she saw a strikingly familiar tuft of black hair tied up and shorter blonder hair on the female companion seated with him on the lounge chair. The couple had their legs intertwined and the woman was laying with her head on the chest of her male companion and her thigh was rubbing him ever so slightly. The man really seemed to enjoy it. Sakura blushed at the scene. Unlike the other more subdued couples, this couple felt no shame at all but rubbed against one another in the lounge chair, though they weren't kissing but chatting instead.

"Shikamaru?" Naruto called out behind her. It was then that she finally recognized the couple. They seemed so different without their uniforms and while they touched each other that way. I knew it! Shika is seeing Temari!

Naruto put his bag down and opened the nearest door to the balcony and walked out. Sakura tried to stop him; she was pretty sure Shikamaru and Temari weren't expecting their friends to barge in on them, even if they were in a public place. She was certain that Shikamaru was seeing someone in secret for a while now and seeing Temari confirmed her suspicions that it was her all along. Naruto! Leave them be! By the time Sakura opened her mouth to stop him, he was already outside.

"BAKA!" Sakura announced and followed him outside onto the balcony. Kagome and Kakashi remained behind in the hallway.

"Ah! It appears Naruto and Sakura have already found some of their friends now!" Old Kagome seemed very pleased as she clasped her hands and watch Naruto and Sakura walk out onto the balcony.

Kakashi raised his eyebrows at the scene before him on the balcony. Is Jiraiya trying to taunt and incite Naruto? I don't think he needs much more pushing to be with Sakura. Talk about a blunt object.

Naruto was smiling from ear to ear as he saw his close friend Shikamaru with the blonde beauty from Suna. I always pictured them together. They are both so smart and competitive. They fit. Naruto was very satisfied with seeing them so close on the lounge chair. I wonder if Sakura would be open to PDA? He blushed and spontaneously turned back to find Sakura and was surprised to see her right behind him and looking like she was about to punch him. He jumped.

"BAKA! Naruto!" She punched him in the arm.

"Che! Sakura-chan!? What was that for." He kept walking forward to the lounge chair where Shikamaru and Temari were sitting. Sakura followed him step for step. She leaned in and whispered in his ear. Her breath tickled his neck and ear and he felt her hair brush his shoulder. The over-powering scent of her sweat penetrated his nostrils.

"Naruto. . .Don't you think they want some privacy?" Her lips lingered next to his ear for second like she was going to kiss him. They both blushed. The commotion caused by Sakura punching Naruto alerted Shikamaru and Temari and the couple on the lounge chair watched the exchange between Naruto and Sakura with shock.

Temari looked up at Shika and muttered.

"Finally, those two-" Shikamaru brought his hand up and covered Temari's mouth. He shook his head and mouthed the word "mission." Temari nodded in realization.

"Shika, Temari are you both here for the mission too?" Naruto waved to them like everything was normal. Although Shikamaru and Temari had been dating in secret for a while, Shikamaru still wasn't quite used to having people he knew openly see his affection for Temari. He bashfully brought up his right arm behind his head and blushed noticeably. He tried to shift his weight so Temari would dismount from her position draped over him, in particular, her thigh that she still had rubbing against his pulsating erection. It wouldn't go away until she stopped and she wasn't stopping.

Unlike Shikamaru, Temari had absolutely no shame and was blunt and honest with anyone who asked about her relationship with Shika from day one. She smirked as she knew she was irritating the hell out of Shikamaru by her current actions. He knew she enjoyed getting a rise out of him-literally. So, all he could do was enjoy it too-despite his best efforts to stop her.

"Tch. So Troublesome." He squeezed her thigh with his other hand and blushed some more as she pressed her thigh a bit harder into him for just a moment.

Naruto and Sakura had noticed her ministrations and were turning bright red. Naruto swallowed. Sakura turned so she was only looking at them with her peripheral vision.

"Nice to see the two of you. . .er. . .together. You make a really cute couple." Sakura couldn't resist. She had always really liked Temari and was very happy to see Shika so obviously happy. . .in more ways than one, although it was embarrassing the hell out of her. I wish I had a dose of Temari's lack of shame sometimes.

"Aww! Thanks, Sakura, sweetie. It's really nice to see you too, especially so close to Naruto." Shikamaru winced and pinched Temari's hip.

"Ow!" She glared at him and stopped moving her thigh but kept it draped over him to shield his erection until it receded.

"What Temari means to say is that it's nice you are both getting along and yes, Naruto, we are also here for the mission with Jiraiya-sama." His erection was starting to go away-at least to the point that it wouldn't be so obvious in his baggy swimming trunks. Temari removed her thigh and stood up. She gave Sakura a hug. Sakura hugged her back, though a bit surprised at the sudden affection.

"Listen, Sakura, let's go have a bath and let the guys catch up. I'm sure you are exhausted. Plus, Ino is here too, I'm sure she'll want to join us."

"Ino?" Sakura said in high-pitched surprise. Shikamaru stood up and smirked at Naruto, who gave his cheesy grin back.

"Mm. Let the girls chat and we can get lunch set up."

"Yessss. I am starving." Naruto said as his stomach grumbled. Temari turned back to wink at Shika who smirked back at her. The girls started to make their way back to the door off the balcony. Naruto and Shikamaru followed. The four walked back in a line together.

As they reached the door, as if knowing one of them would ask about who else would be present for the mission, Temari spoke up.

"Gaara is here too." Termari slide the door open off the balcony and back into the hallway. Naruto was smiling from ear to ear at the mention of one of his closest friends, although he hadn't seen him in a few months.

"The Kazekage-sama is here?" Sakura followed Temari back inside. The girls made eye contact with Kakashi and smiled at Kagome as they entered the hallway.

"Sakura-chan! Don't you remember?" Naruto blurted from behind her, following the girls inside. Shikamaru followed smoothly and slide the door shut.

"Because of the new relationship Konoha has with Suna, we've started a tradition of a summer festival between the two villages. It lasts the week of the solstice." Naruto looked very smug and pleased with himself that he could explain this to Sakura.

"Che! How is it that you know about this and I don't?!" Sakura raised her voice and looked at Naruto.

"As future Hokage, I keep up on village affairs." He winked at her. That smug bastard! Sakura narrowed her eyes at him and simultaneously felt heat surge between her legs. The urge to strangle him was only adding to the throbbing need to fuck him senseless. I just might get my chance tonight! Eep! Now that the chance is real and not going to be interrupted, what am I thinking?! I've never even done it before. All this time. . .when it comes down to it. . .will I know what to do? She narrowed her eyes some more trying to disguise her sudden paranoia. Unfortunately, she only focused more on his lips, the sweat on his collar bone, the cut of his shoulders beneath his dirty shirt. Naruto didn't seem to notice her penetrating glance.

"Sakura, Temari, Kagome mentioned that Ino is in the girl's suite here. You three should enjoy a bath while Naruto, Shikamaru and I meet with Jiraiya, who I believe is meeting with the Kazekage at the moment." Although Naruto seemed oblivious, Kakashi was staring at Sakura as if he could read her craving for Naruto on her face. Although she welcomed Kakashi's interruption of her fantasy, he was getting downright eerie with his awareness. Get out of my head pervy Kakashi! She pouted at him.

At the mention of the Kazekage, Kagome stood up taller beside Sakura.

"Such a nice and young Kazekage. How proud the village of Suna must be with such a prodigy. If you don't need me anymore, I'll be on my way, please don't hesitate to ask at the desk if you need anything. An early dinner will be prepared shortly, please let Jiraiya-kun know if he plans to have you all eat together in the suites." Kagome puttered away back down the hallway and announced over her shoulder: "Please ennnnnjoyyyy and remember, thin walls." She walked away swaying and humming to herself.

"Eheheheheheheh." Naruto and Sakura both laughed uncomfortably. Temari and Shikamaru seemed to be looking at the ceiling. Kakashi cleared his throat.

"Alright, ladies, go enjoy yourselves. Kagome told me this suite is for the boys." He pointed at the double door down the hall a bit more. "That is the girl's suite. They are linked via a common space in the middle, but the private quarters are largely separated." He smirked and motioned at Shikamaru and Naruto and turned toward the nearest double door. "Mm." He gestured inside the open door. Shikamaru winked at Temari and she winked back. He entered the room first. Kakashi turned his gaze on Naruto, who didn't budge, but instead turned his head to stare obviously at Sakura.

"Alright!" Temari announced as she swung open the next double door to the girl's room.

"Let's find Ino and go relax." She gently put her hand on Sakura's bicep.

"Mm." Sakura acknowledged Temari half-heartedly as she looked up to meet Naruto's gaze. Kakashi gave Naruto a little push on the shoulder and he slowly moved forward to follow Shikamaru as the eye-lock between Sakura and Naruto intensified.

They seemed to walk in slow-motion into the separate rooms, as though the impending separation they were about to endure was causing the magnetism between them to intensify. Sakura's stare of connection transitioned into a powerfully heated look that, for once, didn't seem to be lost on Naruto.

For a second, Sakura caught a flash of the mature, crystalline heat she had seen in his eyes less than twelve hours prior. Why can't I be alone with him. How much longer must this go on? She knew she must have an expression of desperation in her eyes now. She thought she saw Naruto set his jaw and tense his shoulders like he was about to move. His eyes flashed a look of the strongest lust she had ever seen just as Kakashi gave him a final push into the room. The connection between their eyes was severed.

"See you at dinner time in two hours." Kakashi followed and shut the door. Sakura deflated and frowned at Temari.

"Sheesh. You'd think you were never going to be together again! Don't worry, Sakura, you'll see him soon." Temari turned and went into the girl's room and muttered over her shoulder. "Besides, I don't think there's any doubt that Naruto wants into your pants and then some."

Sakura blushed at Temari's last comment as she shut the door.

"I had no idea you were such a freaking sap! You are going to have to dish the goods when we get to the bath. I'm pretty sure Ino and I both want to know what Naruto is packing."

"Ehhhhhhh!" Sakura's shocked reaction was lost as Temari walked forward into the suite. Sakura looked around still confused over Temari's bluntness.

The room had a large entryway adorned with shelves containing house-slippers and hooks. A small but sumptuous and low sofa was nearby with a small fountain on bamboo plant on an end table. Sakura noticed stained glass skylights from above letting multi-colored light hit hit the tatami-mat floor. It felt a bit like entering a different world-a calmer more poetic one. Thin rice paper doors were open in front of the entryway to a large sitting room with a low table, chairs and a small kitchenette and fridge. A second set of thicker doors stood open to a private balcony overlooking the part of the hotspring below that was only decorative and not for swimming. The room was enormously large. The whole suite seemed huge, in fact. Beside the open double rice-paper doors to the sitting area was a rice-paper wall leading down a narrow hallway to what Sakura could only assume were the bedrooms and bathroom. Temari walked forward into the sitting room.

"Ino?" She called out as she progressed into the room and looked around. After looking from side to side, Temari walked out and back down the hallway toward the sleeping rooms.

"Hey! Sakura! You have the biggest room on the end of the hallway." Sakura followed her down the hall to see her pointing to the door at the end.

"Jiraiya-sama really ponied up for this mission and each room has its own bathroom. There's a small bathroom in the hallway here too. As if we need a fourth one. I'm going to check Ino's room. Make yourself comfortable and then get changed for the bath!" Temari continued down the hall and slide open the second to last door. Sakura could hear her call out to Ino again.

Finally left to her own devices again, Sakura walked back into the large expense of a sitting/dining room and made her way to the balcony, which as she approached, she realized was much larger than it looked. It seemed like it wrapped down the entire length of the suite to the left past each of the bedrooms. From what she could gather, as the balcony curved around the building, her own portion of the balcony near her bedroom in the back was hidden from the rest of the balcony.

She turned her head and looked to the right and noticed that the balcony continued past the wall of the girl's suite and all the way down past what she assumed were each of the boy's bedrooms in their suite. Right in the middle was a bump out and the widest part of the balcony with two large hammocks swaying freely in the breeze and a table even bigger than the one inside the suite.

Sakura jumped as she realized she wasn't alone on the balcony. Leaning on the railing at the balcony's edge with his back to her, was Sabaku no Gaara, the Kazekage of Suna. He was dressed in his regal black flowing robes for missions and his deep blood red hair was blowing a bit in the wind. She walked closer with the intentions of saying hello to him. But, something prevented her from announcing her presence to him right away, although she was pretty sure he could sense her nonetheless.

As she got a bit closer, she noticed that he was holding something in his hand. She squinted her eyes. Is that. . .a yellow rose? Made of . . .sand? It dissolved back into Gaara's hand and fell away in the wind as he turned his head to meet her eyes. Is that a look of embarrassment on his face?

Sakura bowed.

"Kazekage-sama! So nice to see you again." She lifted her eyes and though Gaara was ever stoic, it seemed as though he was smiling slightly.

"Haruno, Sakura, Naruto's beloved. Call me Gaara."

Sakura all but choked on her next words.

"Alright, nice to see you Gaara." He nodded, smiled ever so slightly, and turned back to look over the edge of the balcony again.

"Sakura!" She heard a yell from behind her; it was Temari's voice. Sakura took a few steps back in the direction of the sitting area in the girl's suite.

"There you are! I found Ino!" Sakura turned to see Temari already in a robe and ready for a bath. Ino was too. She had her hair bunned up on top of her head. Sakura had never seen all of Ino's hair pulled out of her face before. She looked older and strikingly beautiful.

"Che. Honestly, I don't know how anyone can expect to lose Sakura. Her forehead can be seen from space." Ino smirked and put her hands on her hips. Sakura raised her fist as her eyebrows twitched.

"Nice to see you too Ino-pig." They both broke into smiles and hugged each other.

"Alright Sakura, get your ass changed. It's bath time." As Sakura started to walk back to the suite, she turned, realizing Gaara was still on the balcony behind her.

"See you soon Gaara." She bowed again in his direction, a little less formally this time. As she brushed by Temari and Ino, she caught Ino tensing up like something was making her uncomfortable.

"I'll come with you, Forehead, and show you where the robes are." Ino followed her back inside. Sakura could hear Temari walking over to her brother and chatting with him as she walked back inside with Ino.

"Gaara? I thought you were meeting with Jiraiya-sama. . . ."

Sakura was out of earshot for the rest as she and Ino walked down the hall toward the rooms.

Sakura and Ino caught up while she changed and Ino helped her pin her still filthy hair up on her head.

"Tsk, forehead, you are so oily! Did you run a marathon on the way here? Or is it really that hot outside?" Sakura rolled her eyes affectionately at Ino. The girl was her best friend and always had been, but it was their mission in life to give one another a hard time.

"It's near 80 outside! Weren't you just out there when you made your way up here with Shika earlier today?" Sakura eyed her friend.

". . ."

"Nothing to say? Hello? Ino? Are you ok?" It wasn't like Ino to not have a comeback.

"Yea, I'm fine. I just haven't been outside in a little while is all."

"Alright missy. Tell me what is going on right now." Sakura eyed Ino with scrutiny.

"Maybe later, when Temari isn't around." What is going on with Ino? Does it have something to do with Temari or Gaara? Pfft. Ino and Gaara have barely had more than two words with one another. It can't be Gaara.

"Alright. Whenever you are ready. I'm here." Sakura smiled at her. Ino smiled back weakly.

"Ino?"

"Mmm."

"Do you know anything about what this mission is about?" Sakura had all but forgotten what Kakashi had told her and Naruto at the campsite earlier that morning. She was noticing more and more that this bathhouse had an odd way of making you forget your current situation.

"Not really, forehead. Jiraiya-sama just told me and Shikamaru that we would be participating in a joint mission involving the safety of you and Naruto. What the hell that has to do with this hotspring is beyond me. Besides, do you not know what's going on?" Ino stopped to look at Sakura.

"Not exactly. I was really hoping you could tell me a bit more." Sakura looked down at her hands.

"Well, I'm sure Temari knows something. Shikamaru must have spilled to her and he definitely knows what's going on and I know for a fact that he can't keep anything from her."

"Mmm." Sakura was unconvinced and what Kakashi told her about Naruto and the Kyuubi had really made her nervous. She wanted to protect him, but how could she if she didn't have all the details? Ino snapped her out of her momentary funk.

"Hmph. Not to mention, you need to spill about baka-yarou!" Ino poked her and changed the subject as she finished putting up her hair. Now she had a gloating smirk on her face.

"Eh! What's there to tell?!"

"O quit the bullshit, forehead. Naruto has been swooning over you since we were kids and Temari told me you were making eyes at him out in the hallway earlier. I expect full details when we get in the bath."

The girls walked out of Sakura's room in their robes and found Temari lounging on the sofa near the door with the room key in her hand.

"Come on slow asses! Sakura, you better not have given Ino juicy details without me."


	7. Steam Valve and the Story of Three

Chapter 7: Steam Valve and the Story of the Three

After Kakashi shut the door to the guy's suite behind him, he let out a muffled sigh of relief. I thought I might have to step in between those two again! Kakashi eyed Naruto in front of him as they followed Shikamaru into the suite.

The suite had essentially the same layout as the girl's rooms, but was a bit more austere and masculine. There was no multi-colored stained glass in the skylights above, for instance. Rather, the glass appeared to have another etched design.

Naruto looked up and studied the scene of the solitary male leaning against a tree. He thought the figure resembled the same male with dog-like ears from the feudal scene carved in the glass on the balcony doors back out in the hallway. Naruto squinted to try to make out more of the details of the carving. Does he have whiskers on his cheeks like me? That's a little creepy. Maybe those are fox ears? Is he a Jinchuriki?

Naruto studied his face again and decided that despite the whiskers he looked very un-like him. Who the hell wears their hair that long anymore anyway? Eh. I guess Neji does, but he does kinda look like a girl . . . Naruto was now wearing a ridiculous expression as he thought of Neji combing his hair with a butterfly-shaped brush.

He heard Kakashi slap himself in the forehead with his hand and then saw him walk slowly by him and into the seating area.

Tch. I'm just looking at the details Kakashi. Figures that he doesn't notice. Naruto returned his gaze to the ceiling. He squinted his eyes again at the image as he imagined Neji's long hair simultaneously. That tree behind whiskers-dude looks really familiar. Where have I seen that bark pattern before?

"Tsk. Narr-uto." After hearing Kakashi slap himself in the face from behind him, Shikamaru had spun around and was watching Naruto with raised eyebrows as he stared at the ceiling.

"What in the Kages are you doing?" Shikamaru asked pointedly then looked up at the glass in the skylight alongside Naruto.

"I'm enjoying the local artwork, Shika." Naruto announced with an uppity snobbish air to his voice while continuing to stare at the glass. It's so odd that I recognize the bark pattern on this tree. But I can't think of why. Shikamaru didn't laugh at his bad joke and just continued to stare at the pattern too.

"Heh. He has long hair like Neji and whiskers like you. But unlike you, he seems quiet and lost in thought." Shikamaru lowered his head back down and walked back into the main living area. He was smirking, he loved poking fun at Naruto-especially his intelligence; Shikamaru knew better than anyone that Naruto was just as smart if not smarter than he was, he just kept it hidden and mixed in with moments of complete idiocy. Shikamaru sighed as he thought about it. If he just applied that incredible aptitude of his to read people-which is better than anyone I have ever met-he would be unstoppable and would definitely become Hokage. Baka. Regardless, I'd still follow the goof anywhere. Shikamaru sighed one more time as he admitted to himself how much he cared about and trusted Naruto.

"TEME! Naruto!" Shikamaru yelled behind him as Naruto was still staring at the ceiling with a confused expression. But, that didn't mean he wouldn't need to yell at him to snap him out of his idiocy from time to time.

"Gah! Coming, Shikamaru! You know, since I'm a Jonin now too, I don't think you can pull that orders card on me anymore." Naruto was wearing his cheeseball grin as he caught up with Shikamaru on his way out to the large balcony that joined the boys and girls suites together.

"Cripes. The world is over now that Naruto has been made Jonin. I guess that means it's time for me to take up early-morning jogging." Shikamaru said out of the side of his mouth. Naruto couldn't help but laugh. He had missed seeing Shikamaru. The genius ninja and world's most unpredictable prankster ninja were quite a pair.

"Ahh-so. You've achieved Jonin?" as Shikamaru and Naruto made their way out onto the shared balcony between the boys and the girls suites, they turned as Jiraiya's loud, deep, and authoritative voice echoed behind them. He was standing just finishing up a conversation with Kakashi. Gaara was nearby with his back to them, though his head was turned slightly in their direction as he looked over the balcony out onto the landscape below.

"Ero-Sennin!" Naruto beamed and Jiraiya smiled back. Jiraiya reached down and fluffed Naruto's hair like always used to do when Naruto was a kid. Even though Naruto had grown significantly over the years and towered over many of his Konoha peers, Jiraiya still towered over him. He was a massive sight of a man. Despite his age, Jiraiya's muscle tone, size and strength still far exceeded that of almost all of his fellow nin. He was a legendary sannin after all. With his characteristic hedgehog tuft of long and spiky white hair, Jiraiya was unmistakable.

"Ah-no-sa Ero Sennin, how long have you been up here at the hotsprings waiting?" Naruto asked his first question with a smile on his face and then lowered his voice when he saw Jiraiya turning red. Naruto's eyes narrowed to slits.

"Ero-Sennin. You've just been up here peeping on women this entire time haven't you. Tch." Naruto's forehead twitched as he continued and Shikamaru reached up to scratch the back of his head as he looked at the floor as Naruto's frustrated expression turned to one of seriousness.

"Ero Sennin! you can't ditch me on the training and preparation I need for this mission. I want to make sure I don't do anything to hurt Sakura-chan." Naruto stared off into space. Jiraiya widened his eyes, then his face broke into a smile again and he bent over so his eyes were level with Naruto.

"Narr-uto. You have the mental aptitude, self-sacrificing and loyal qualities of your father and the will, stamina, and strength of your mother. I know that you won't let anything come in between you and your most precious person." At that, Naruto turned red and became less sad and more bashful.

"You just have to learn to trust her fully and know that she will help you-especially after all the turmoil the two of you have faced together." Naruto studied Jiraiya's eyes for more of an explanation on what he meant. Gaara had turned around completely to face the group and Shikamaru and Kakashi were listening intently to the conversation as well.

"I know that you have a lot of questions, Naruto, and I'm sorry that I haven't always been there to answer them or to help you with your training. I do have quite the taste for women, but know that my leaving all the time has always far and above been to protect the people most precious to me." With that, Jiraiya fluffed Naruto's hair again and got a far-away twinkle in his eyes like he was thinking of another person too.

Naruto smiled and his bashful expression continued for a few more seconds as the others stared off into space. Jiraiya stood up as the squeal of a few women could be heard from the baths down below on the other side of the building. Jiraiya was turning red again.

"Ja-no! Time for me to try to take a few more notes for my research." Jiraiya cackled and rubbed his hands together.

Naruto's eyebrow twitched again and he grabbed Jiraiya's clothing to prevent him from moving. He yelled.

"Eh! Ero-Sennin! FOCUS! Why are we meeting for this mission in the hotsprings and what does the Kyuubi have to do with my feelings for Sakura-chan?" Jiraiya deflated as the laughter of the women faded away.

"He just comes right out without it doesn't he. . ." Kakashi muttered to Shikamaru beside him.

"So troublesome. . ." Shikamaru's lip twitched. Jiraiya's expression of fondness and the thoughts he was no doubt having about womanly bodies shifted quickly.

"Narr-uto! Why must you insist on calling me that, especially with a member of the honorable Nara clan, the son of the White Fang and the youthful and great Kazekage of Suna present!" Jiraiya gestured to each of the other men who were part of their group and ranted at Naruto. Jiraiya's deep voice had taken on an air of bickering and ridiculousness. He was whining.

"Pfft. You already know Shika, Kakas-sensei, and Gaara really well. And everyone knows you-" Naruto rolled his eyes and muttered at Jiraiya, who continued ranting as if he hadn't heard Naruto's response. Jiraiya was puffing out his chest and starting to clack his shoes on the wooden planks of the balcony.

"Here we go..." Kakashi mumbled under his breath. Shikamaru watched the exchange with raised eyebrows and Gaara was watching with his elbows resting behind him on the railing. He actually looked a little bemused if you studied his face closely enough.

"You should announce me properly as the one and only legendary Toad Sage Sennin of-" Jiriaya had started to go through his traditional barrage of Kabuki poses, clacking his shoes on the balcony floor and spinning around like a showy buffoon. To Naruto, it just seemed like he was trying to distract everyone from his succumbing to the sounds of women just now. Rather than entertain it, Naruto rolled his eyes and walked away.

"Gaara-san!" Naruto wasn't paying any more attention to Jiraiya's ranting, he had moved on to greet Gaara and see if his friend knew anything about the mission.

Naruto walked over to Gaara and hugged him, bashfully as he always did with one of his closest friends. Gaara's lips moved slightly, which coming from Gaara meant a large smile. Jiraiya deflated and slumped over like he had lost his spine.

"Why doesn't anyone let me finish my introduction?" Jiraiya muttered with hyperbolic sadness. Kakashi took a seat at the large table on the balcony and put his feet up on another chair beside him as though preparing for a nice nap. Jiraiya deflated further.

Shikamaru eyed Jiraiya with a smirk on his face.

"Jiraiya-sama. Good to see you." Shikamaru extended his hand. Jiraiya, still mostly deflated, shook Shikamaru's hand and gave him a hearty slap on the back.

Shikamaru started choking. I guess Jiraiya-sama is happy someone is acknowledging him.

"Good to see you Nara, Shikamaru! I know some time has passed since it happened, but I was very sorry to hear about Azuma falling on the field of battle. He was a brave nin and a good man." Jiraiya's repose had returned and although Shikamaru was saddened at the mention of his sensei, who was like a second father to him, he was also greatly comforted by the tone in Jiraiya's voice. Like Naruto, he had a way of making people feel better. After their introductions, the two took seats at the table beside Kakashi, who remained motionless, but spoke up.

"Jiraiya-sama, we should tell Naruto some of the details before we send him off to be with Gaara." Shikamaru's expression changed to one of calculation and knowing.

"He will want to know as much as possible, especially because Sakura is involved." Shikamaru spoke in something louder than a whisper, but lower than normal speech. They weren't exactly trying to hide their conversation from Naruto, who for the moment was still chatting happily with Gaara.

"Yes. I plan to tell him enough that he will be still be able to relax when the time comes. But, Naruto, being the natural Genius that he is, will need tangible examples not just a verbose explanation, and only Sabaku no Gaara can provide that for him." The three men eyed Naruto and Gaara as they too started to make their way over to the table. As they neared the table, Naruto immediately perceived what they were discussing.

"Alright, what is the Kit's problem." He gritted his teeth. Kakashi and Shikamaru smiled as Gaara and Naruto sat down.

Ino, Temari, and Sakura made their way down the stairs and through the main area of the bathhouse-resort in their robes and towels. As they hit the main floor, Sakura adjusted the shoulder of her robe and Ino belted out a squeal behind her.

"Gah! Is that a hickey?!" Ino grabbed Sakura by the shoulders and stopped her dead in the hallway as they walked to the entrance to the girl's bathing area. Temari turned around in shock.

"No way!" Did you guys already hook up? Did it happen last night in the tent?" Temari put her hands on Sakura's arms. Sakura looked embarrassed at the sudden attention and she put her hand over the offending mark Naruto had left on her skin last night. She smiled silently as she was reminded of what had transpired between them in the tent. The girls didn't miss the smile that lit up her features.

"O MY GOD! Something did happen!" Ino was squealing even more.

"HOW!?" Temari was squealing beside her. "I thought Kakashi was in the tent with you two all last night?"

"Nothing happened." Sakura started to walk past her two friends back down the hallway and toward the bathing area. But, despite her best efforts she just couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she recounted Naruto's whiskers brushing against her skin, his hands on her thigh or his voice in her ear: "I want you Sa-ku-ra-Chan. . ." Sakura could feel goosebumps on her skin as she thought about his deep, purring voice whispering in her ear as he kissed her and fondled her. Damnit. Her smile was spreading and there was definitely no hiding it from the girls now.

"I smell BS!" Ino countered. Temari snickered.

"Who do you girls think I am anyway?! Besides, this is Naruto we are talking about here." Sakura made her best attempt at disgust. Ino and Temari both rolled their eyes.

"Please Sakura, it's been about six years since you've been able to pull that. EVERYONE knows you have the hots for that bod of his." Temari stuck her tongue out as the trio made their way around the corner.

"We both remember you telling us about how you and Sai oogled over him when he was doing his waterfall training with Yamato and Kakashi and he was shirtless. And that was a few years ago!" Ino stared her down. Sakura felt heat touch her face, her chest, her thighs.

Sakura looked shocked. I really have wanted him for a while haven't I? Why did it take so long for me to notice? Was I not ready? Something deep inside Sakura told her that she had to cross an important milestone before she could be with him.

"Six years? Has it really been that long?" Sakura mumbled dejectedly-more about her not noticing her own feelings than trying to dispute Temari and Ino.

"That's right-even during the Chuunin exams when Sasuke-kun was still around, we all saw how you looked at and worried over Naruto." Ino smirked as she looked at her friend. Sakura was aghast and unable to deny it. Temari giggled.

"Seems like you were the only one who didn't know how you felt. Everyone else was pretty sure. In fact, I think you might be more dense than Uzumaki!" Temari laughed harder and Sakura pouted. Ino gave her a consoling pat on the back.

Throughout the course of their banter, the girls had arrived at the entrance to the bathing area. They started grabbing two towels each from the dry towel stack and walked into the female bathing area. As the door shut behind them, Ino pinched Sakura on the rear. Sakura yelped. Their feet made a small tapping noise on the tile floor of the communal showering area. Only two elderly women were gabbing in one corner.

"HAH! Sakura, remember when we were at the academy and the way you used to put soooo much effort into saying Naruto annoyed you, please. He made you all hot and bothered even then. You were just too embarrassed to admit it." Ino slipped off her robe and walked triumphantly in her naked frame to the nearest clean shelf to drop her robe and dry towels.

Sakura blushed. It wasn't like she hadn't seen all her female friends naked before, but it had been awhile since she had seen Ino and she had really matured.

"Holy Sage of the Six Paths, Ino!" Temari was removing her own robe, revealing her muscle-toned frame. "Your tits got huge!" Ino blushed.

"You think so?" Ino looked down at herself as she turned on the showerhead closest to her, placing a clean washcloth under her butt and sat on a nearby wash stool. Ino was the most busty of the three.

"They really did." Sakura said a little defeated. She looked over at Temari.

"I've always thought you had amazing abs and hips, Temari." Temari had taken a seat at the shower head next to Ino and began to soap up. Temari had small breasts and less curves than Ino and Sakura; but, she was very well toned and graceful.

"Thanks, Sakura!" Ino and Temari both looked back at Sakura who still had her robe in place. They looked at one another.

"Forehead. This really isn't like you. You've never been one to be shy about your body. What's going on?" Sakura reluctantly took off her own robe. Of the three girls, Sakura was the most well-proportioned. She had sizeable, supple breasts, a sculpted stomach, fantastic muscle tone, curvy hips and a large, perky butt.

"Seriously. I don't know what you need to be shy about with those muscles of yours. You are a babe."

The two elderly women in the opposite corner of the bathing area fell silent as one of them turned to Sakura and spoke up.

"You are in love with someone aren't you honey?" The other elderly woman nodded and Ino and Temari turned to them in shock.

"You're worried he won't take pleasure in the sight of you the first time. You fear rejection?" Sakura looked at the two women with an embarrassed, but knowing expression in her eyes.

"Take it from me honey, men love confidence, trust that body of yours. Listen to it. It will be the key to your pleasure and to his." All three girls turned beet red. "If he truly loves you. He won't be able to contain himself. The very hair on your head will drive him mad. Trust us." The ladies started to laugh as they went back to their conversation.

The three girls stared at one another uncomfortably at first and then broke into giggles too. Now that Sakura was fully naked herself, she took a seat on the other side of Ino and they all continued to soap up and scrub before they entered the bath.

"I'm really happy to see you and Shikamaru finally out in the open, Temari. Is it because of your brothers that you had to keep it quiet for so long?" Sakura said as she washed her stomach.

"It's funny that you mention that. Gaara and Kankuro both love Shikamaru and are happy we are together."

Ino blew air out of her mouth.

"I'm pretty sure it's Shika's parents that are the problem." Ino announced. Temari remained silent.

"What do you mean? I've never known the Nara clan to have any problems with anyone from Suna." Sakura asked as she rinsed her back.

"It's not that. . . " Temari cut her off.

"Shikamaru is worried about taking our relationship to the next level and he thinks introducing me to his family is the biggest step in that direction." Temari was a bit sad as she scrubbed her arms.

"-So all this time Shika has had me and Choji covering for him with his parents when he would spend time with Temari." Ino seemed almost as put off as Temari about the situation.

"Wow, Shika is a commitment phobe? I never would have guessed." Sakura muttered.

"Heh. Yea. He hasn't said the L-word yet either." Temari blurted out.

Ino and Sakura looked at her wide-eyed.

"Well, how long have you guys been together? Not that long right?" Sakura eyed Temari and Ino answered for her.

"1 year." Sakura's jaw dropped.

"I know he does. It's just like. . .something is holding him back. He just needs a little push, I know it." Temari smiled a small smile.

"Well, let me know. I'd be happy to shove the shit outta him so I can stop covering for him. Besides, Shika is one of my closest friends, I know he loves you too. I think he is just scared to screw it up with you." Ino smirked as she stood after she finished rinsing. Temari smiled back.

"Thanks, Ino." Ino nodded in response and walked toward the door to the bathing area. Sakura wanted to make light of the situation as her two friends seemed to have gotten a bit mopey. The elderly women that were their only company, dried off and left.

"Well, since I have Ino-Pig and Sand-Crotch all over me about Naruto, I might not have the right to give advice. But, maybe you should try pushing Shikamaru a little bit tonight, Temari? This damn bathhouse definitely seems to have an effect on people." Sakura reached up to make sure her hair was still tightly put-up as she and Temari quickly rinsed and joined Ino.

The three girls grabbed their towels and robes and stood by the second set of doors out to the springs. They placed one dry towel around their naked frames and slipped the extra towel they each brought into little cubbies by the outer doors.

"Enough about me. What about you Ino? I want to hear about this mystery man who deflowered you!" Temari winked at Ino, who blushed and looked down at her hands.

"WHAT!? INO! When did it happen? OMG! That means I'm the only virgin left besides Hinata! GAHHH!" Sakura squealed and hugged Ino, who wore a smile, but had a pained look in her eyes. Sakura noticed it immediately, but Temari who walked past them out to the springs didn't seem to. Sakura tried to catch Ino's eye. Does this have something to do with why she was spending so much time up here and didn't arrive with Shikmaru? Did this guy break her heart?! CHHANAROOO! I'LL KILL HIM!

Sakura and Ino followed Temari outside. When they emerged, they were presented with a huge, natural, rocky bathing area with a small waterfall and bamboo growing tall to shield wandering eyes on the other side of the baths. They were the only ones in the bathing area. Temari stretched and sighed. Sakura smiled and felt herself relax even more at the scene before her, though she was still concerned for Ino beside her, who seemed to be calming too, but still had some sadness in her eyes.

"Looks like we have the whole bath to ourselves, ladies!" Temari announced.

Sakura sighed and decided she'd get the real details from Ino later. Time to really relax. She did take note of the many gaps in the nearby fence, however. Damn Pervs! Jiraiya-sama better not have all the guys over there right now. Although, I guess that means Naruto might be watching. Time for me to have some fun. Sakura took off her towel immediately and let the air hit her skin. She breathed in the freedom of being nude outdoors and closed her eyes. She couldn't hear any perv sounds from the guys bath next door. Kuso. Guess he isn't there. At least I can cheer up Ino.

Steam was wafting from the water. Temari took of her towel too, placed it on a nearby bench and walked into the water in the buff. Ino followed suit. Sakura hesitated following them into the water. If Ino doesn't want to let on to Temari that it bothers her, then I'll play along.

"Come on, Ino, out with it! Who is he?" Sakura rolled her eyes. Guess Temari can't take a hint. As the trio settled on rocky benches beneath the water so they were submerged up to the shoulders and their breasts floated freely in the water before them, Ino sighed.

"I'd rather not say."

"Oooooo! That means it's someone we know! Who could it be?! One-night stand? Long-term affair? Is he batty over you or the other way around?"

"It was just one-night and I'm pretty sure there wasn't much more to it." Ino was blushing noticeably and biting her lip.

Temari winked. "Well, one night or not, he obviously did something right." Ino started blushing even more. Sakura finally decided to chime in after watching Ino's reactions. Well, she isn't all bitter about him, whoever he is.

"Did you, uh-err. . ."

"Orgasm, you mean Sakura!?" Temari blurted. Ino was as red as a lobster and suddenly dunked her head under the water.

"GAH! You did!" Sakura's jaw dropped.

Ino came up gasping for air and was still brilliantly red.

"-from just a one-night stand! He must be a great lover." Sakura stated.

"What was it like?" Temari was leaning forward now. Ino saw an opening and she took it. Ah-Hah!

"Wait! You mean you haven't ever had one, Ms. experienced?" Ino poked Temari in the shoulder who flapped her hands like she was bumbling a magic trick.

"Well-err-see-No." She looked cautiously at her two friends.

"What the hell is Shika doing!" Sakura was outraged. Ino just looked smug.

"Well, Shika and I haven't actually, um, had sex yet."

Both Ino and Sakura were speechless. Sakura muttered.

"At least I'm not the last virgin anymore." Ino yelled.

"Hold on, how in the fuck is it possible that you guys haven't yet?!" Ino was dumbfounded. "After all that running around Choji and I did to keep you guys a secret, you haven't even screwed yet!? Unbelievable. What is that dimwit Shika waiting for?! A solar eclipse?!"

The reference to solar phenomena reminded Sakura of what Kakashi had told her and Naruto about the solstice and the whole point of this mission in the first place. It seemed like ages ago that they had discussed it. This damn bathhouse puts a spell on you or something. I feel like I'm in a dreamworld! I need to focus on protecting Naruto.

Ino and Temari caught on to Sakura's concentration. They both sighed to transition out of their discussion of Shikamaru's seeming wussiness.

"Sorry, Sakura, you must be worried about the mission-and Naruto. Temari, do you know anything?" Ino turned to her. Temari, happy to have the heat of the sex discussion off of her, answered.

"Shika could only tell me a few things. Jiraiya was supposed to explain the rest to him sometime tonight. Apparently, we aren't supposed to tell you and Naruto too much because we don't want to put pressure on you two. Your love has to happen naturally-and until that can happen, we have to keep the two of you apart." Temari and Ino winced.

"Wait, what?" The annoyance in Sakura's voice was palpable. She was sick of being kept in the dark. All she wanted was Naruto. That's it. So simple. How many more things stood in their way? And on top of everything else, my own friends are cock-blocking me?!

"Are you guys fucking serious?! If anything, it will just make us both explode if you keep us apart." Sakura was starting to yell.

"I think that might be part of the problem-it can't be just for lust." Ino offered and Temari tried to explain.

"The gist of it is that Naruto isn't the only one in love with you Sakura." Ino and Sakura both raised their eyebrows.

"Now, this part, even I haven't heard." Ino was surprised.

"Apparently, the Kyuubi has bonded specifically to you and only you, which would normally seem like a good thing, right, to have Mr. Fluffles on your side? And I guess you and Naruto, with Fluffles in tow, have to seal the deal-heheh get it seal?" Sakura raised her fist and Temari flinched and continued.

"-As long as you do it before the solstice, we should be all good and the bonding will be complete. But, in the process, the Kyuubi could completely possess Naruto and-" Temari was interrupted as an uncontrolled gasp erupted from Sakura.

"Holy shit! That's the most important part! So are you telling me, that we could potentially break the seal on Kurama? How in the Kages am I supposed to prevent that?!"

"I think so and about the prevention, I have no idea. But, going back to what Ino said about love over lust, Shika said that the most important thing is for the two of you to build your trust and love and make it as strong as possible. He said you have to ' not be afraid and to truly believe that you can protect Naruto.' Whatever the hell that means. He said you should know when the time comes."

Sakura pushed herself off the rocky ledge and into the middle of the bath where it was deeper. She plunged her body under the water. The silence under the water drowned out some of the confusion she was feeling. She could only hear the movement of the water and her own heartbeat. I can do this. I have to do this. Only me. Naru-to. She came back up for air.

She let herself float on her back. She was too much in her own head to realize that Ino had remained oddly silent through the rest of the explanation. Well let's think. I can't be afraid? Does this have anything to do with the weird dream I had last night? Ino speaking up interrupted her thoughts.

"I think I know why Jiraiya-sama especially wanted me and the Kazekage here." Sakura stopped floating and drifted back over to the other girls. Temari had a look of confusion on her face. They both waited for Ino to finish. She gulped and swallowed.

"About this time last year, Gaara, the Kazekage of Suna-your brother, Temari-and I were. . . together." Ino looked up at Temari as the understanding sank in.

"What. Are you kidding me? You and my kid brother. Gaara was the one who deflowered you?"

". . ." Ino looked petrified.

"Ooooooo, I get why you didn't want to say anything now. Silly, Ino. He is my brother, but I know he's a man and, well, you are a good friend. Why would I mind?" Ino let out a breath as Temari didn't seem angry, just shocked.

"Wow. You and the Kazekage?" Sakura had a hunch about what Ino was getting at, but she wanted to hear it from her first.

"Yea. So. . ." Ino seemed really uncomfortable about it. Wow, she's really broken up over this. I had no idea! She did fall for him! Sakura's heart broke a little for seeing the pain grow in her friend's eyes. Temari finally noticed it too but instead got a thoughtful smile on her face like she wanted to say something, but was holding back.

"Anyway, Gaara and I. . .well. . .it was late one night after I was walking back from pretending to be on a mission with Shikamaru to cover for him when he went to your place, and Choji couldn't make it this time to go with me, so I just thought about making the walk back to Konoha on my own. . ." Sakura and Temari both interjected.

"-INO! Are you nuts! It's too far for a Kunoichi to walk alone!" Both girls said in unison. Ino sighed. She knew her friends were right, but she was really, really tired that night and wanted to be in her own bed and something about seeing Temari and Shika so happy together made her really lonely.

"Well, don't worry. I didn't make it very far." Ino pulled on a loose strand of her hair as she remembered. "It was pretty cold that night for late summer. I was just walking away from the Kazekage's house where your building is, Temari, and getting ready to set into a run when I felt sand wrap around my waist." Ino's cheeks were coloring all over again. "Your brother, the Kazekage, told me it was too cold and too dangerous to walk back alone. He insisted I stay at his place." Ino cleared her throat.

"So, how, praytell, did you go from just crashing at the Kazekage's pad to full on sleeping with him?" Sakura asked playfully.

"eheheh. Well-the heat wasn't working at his place and. . .. It was a crazy night. I felt like I had known him my entire life. I'll just say that." Ino seemed to be getting frustrated.

"I think I know exactly what night you are talking about." Ino stared at Temari like she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"Don't worry, silly, I didn't see the two of you together. I just mean I think I know when it happened because Gaara starting acting differently right after."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked for Ino who still seemed too shocked.

"We all know my brother is one of the most stoic people in the world, but well, Kankuro and I would catch him smiling randomly with this far off look in his eyes. He would never tell us what it was over when we would ask. More recently, he's actually seemed almost sad. Kankuro and I have started taking bets over just who he had fallen for." Temari grinned at Ino who seemed to be even more uncomfortable and shocked now that it seemed Gaara might reciprocate her feelings.

"Look Ino, you shouldn't feel so uncomfortable about the whole thing. I know my brother-even despite how he used to be-and I have never seen him this sad and happy at the same time. It must be because of you. Well, ladies, I'm going to go head upstairs and see what Shika is up to. I'll see you up there in a bit for dinner?" With that Temari left the water and started to towel off.

"Both of you, go for your man! Trust yourselves." Temari winked as she wrapped the dry towel around her body.

"Thanks, Temari." Ino and Sakura said in unison.

"Don't you go and wuss out with Shika, then." Sakura reiterated. Temari smiled, nodded, and made her way back inside, shutting the door.

Sakura let her head fall back into the water to wet the edge of her hairline again. Ino turned to her.

"Sakura, there is one part of this that I guess Temari didn't pick up on. The bigger reason that I know Gaara and I are here. It wasn't just me and him hooking up. I know that the Shukaku bonded to me as well. When we were together, he told me that he used to dream about me and in some of the dreams, I was letting the Shukaku sleep in my lap. And, well, even before that. I used to dream of Gaara and the Shukaku." Ino blushed and continued. Apparently they were naughty dreams.

"It's really hard to explain or put into words. But I know I kept the Shukaku at bay while we were together. You would think it scared me. But, something about it felt so natural and so right. I wasn't planning on telling anyone until Temari brought up the Kyuubi bonding to you. It must be connected."

Shikamaru and Kakashi both sat down around the low dining table in the guy's suite while Gaara and Naruto were out at the bath and the girls were still downstairs somewhere. Jiraiya eyed them both with intensity-telegraphing that the situation was more serious than Shikamaru had first guessed when they spoke about it with Naruto and Gaara.. Shikamaru looked at Kakashi who seemed unfazed by Jiraiya's sharp gaze. I guess Kakashi had a better understanding than I did. After the two settled around the table across from Jiraiya, he downed the cup of sake in front of him-the bottle for which had arrived some time after Naruto and Gaara had left-and looked back at them again.

"It is imperative that Naruto and Sakura do not know the full details of the situation. Pressuring them to behave according to what must occur will cause this mission to fail. Certainly, what they both likely know now should be enough, but all we can really do is put him in the position for the events to fall into place and hope that Sakura is able to do the rest." Kakashi and Shikamaru nodded waiting for him to expand on the details.

Jiraiya refilled his sake cup and began again.

"During early summer, most creatures enter their breeding phase; however, the older and wiser the creature, the less frequent the phase. So while your average hawk might have a yearly breeding season, a hundred year old racoon, let's say, will only have a breeding phase every ten years and the actual window in which the 'breeding' must take place might only be a 48 hour window." Jiraiya's eyes widened a bit. Shikamaru caught the reference. He must be referring to Shukaku, which explains why the Kazekage of Suna bothered to journey up to this bathhouse; he wasn't just trying to get a respite from the bustle of the approaching summer festival and be here to support Naruto. They left these details out of their discussion with Naruto and Gaara. Jiraiya quickly perceived the understanding in Shikamaru's eyes.

"Correct, Nara. The nine great mythical beasts are no exception." Jiraiya eyed Kakashi and Shikamaru again-knowing they were smart enough to finish his first point.

"Meaning the Kyuubi has a an even less frequent breeding phase." Kakashi stated.

"Correct." Jiraiya downed another shot. Shikamaru closed his eyes and filled in the rest of the blanks.

"Meaning, more importantly, the farther apart the breeding periods, the more aggressive, territorial and potentially dangerous a mythical beast becomes during and leading up to its breeding season, namely the Kyuubi, because Naruto is the first ever male Jinchuriki to host the Kyuubi and males are always more territorial during breeding."

"Mmm. This will be the first time in memory since the Sage of the Six Paths, father to the two sons who would create the great schism of ninja ways and who would found the Senju and Uchiha clans, that the Kyuubi will go through his breeding phase in a male host. When the Jinchuriki is female, the male Kyuubi considers the bond he experiences with his host as sufficient. But, when the Jinchuriki is male, especially one with the drive and stamina of Naruto-" Jiraiya didn't take a shot this time, but just watched the two men in front of him. Kakashi spoke up next.

"-The drive is exacerbated, which means Sakura will have to help Naruto control it or it will consume him." Kakashi looked out the nearby window momentarily.

"What are the risks if she fails?" Shikamaru asked the two men.

Jiraiya made a clicking noise in his throat and Kakashi continued to stare out the window.

"The fact that Naruto has fallen for Sakura could not be more fortuitous. There is an old proverb that says that 'only the sweet six-pronged sakura blossom can quell the constant stirring of the great Fox.' Sakura has been blessed with the aptitude for a special Genjutsu that hasn't been seen in generations. It is currently dormant and can only be awakened at the appropriate time, though I have personally only read about it. Tsunade and I have known about this for a while and we kept it quiet, but, of course there are those who had a need to know." Jiraiya eyed Kakashi prominently and continued his explanation.

"This ability would have typically labeled her a fox-charmer among the older villagers. The irony is, of course, that Naruto-completely unrelated to the bond the Kyuubi may feel for whatever part of Sakura's soul it recognizes, fell in love with her on his own. That love he feels for her is the key to keeping the Kyuubi from breaking free of the seals. If Sakura fails or if that part of her soul that feels an affinity for the Kyuubi alone overtakes her, Naruto will be lost forever and the dark side of the Kyuubi will be unleashed with the darkness in Sakura at its helm." Jiraiya was quiet again and looked from Kakashi to Shikamaru and saw the serious expressions on their faces. This time, he poured three sake shots, one for each of them.

"If, however, Sakura's deep love for Naruto and Naruto's love for her overcomes the chaotic bond between the blossom and the fox, then we have nothing to worry about; the Kyuubi will bond with her and be satisfied that the reincarnated form of its demonic match is close by. While the sharingan might have some ability to manipulate Kurama, Sakura's ancestor is the true songstress of both the fox and the snake and more importantly in the case of the Kyuubi, she has to power to decide its behavior, which of course depends now on the love between the two ninjas we have come to know and care for."

"So, the risks are total annihilation of life as we know it?" Shikamaru asked rhetorically.

Jiraiya nodded and Kakashi and Shikamaru both raised their eyebrows in an expression of 'ah fuck.' The three downed their sake shots in silent camaraderie.

"Sensei?" Shikamaru looked from Kakashi and then to Jiraiya. "I see that this breeding period for the mythical beasts has less to do with immediate conception of err-offspring-and more to do with marking and bonding with the mate. Did Gaara experience this with the Shukaku before the Akatsuki extracted the Ichibi from him?"

"I see where you are going, Nara, and don't worry Sabaku no Gaara is not the Kazekage of Suna for nothing; that is why he insisted he participate for Naruto's sake. He has already gone through it and should be filling Naruto in on just the more important details right now, although the experience for the Jinchuriki of the Ichibi wasn't nearly as pronounced as the experience will be for Naruto and the Kyuubi. In fact, rather like Naruto, Gaara himself fell in love with the Shukaku's chosen mate on his own too and is still bonded to and completely taken with her even now that the Ichibi is gone. Such a series of remarkable coincidences in this generation. I really am getting too old."

"Alright, so what's the plan and when is the time window." Kakashi wanted to get right down to business and Shikamaru was interested in the mechanics as well.

"The bonding must occur before the solstice but not before Naruto and Sakura both truly believe and know that one loves the other. If there is any doubt-"

The three nodded at each other in understanding and Kakashi sighed.

"So, we have to keep them from screwing until they both know it's for love, until Sakura's genjutsu is ready-whenever that might be-but not keep them separated for too long because Naruto will grow territorial, aggressive, and restless if he is away from her. Yup, this is totally an S Rank mission about sex, good work, Jiraiya." The three laughed loudly for a minute and then sat in silence. Shikamaru made a very disgruntled face as the moment wore on.

"This is the most troublesome thing I think I've ever had to do." Shikamaru raised his lip. Jiraiya started to chuckle and slapped Shikamaru lightly on the back.

"No wonder Asuma loved you like a son." Shikamaru's eyes lit up again at the mention of his passed sensei.

"We owe it to Naruto-" Jiraiya stated.

"And to Sakura-" Kakashi added more clearly.

"No, they owe it to themselves. They've been in love with each other since they were children and too much has stood in their way." Another moment of silence passed by in which the three all thought of the same struggles Naruto and Sakura have faced, in particular, the unmentioned name of one person who divided them the most.

Kakashi and Jiraiya shared a knowing glance that was not lost on the genius Shikamaru.

"The unspoken love, the hurt, the regret. . .They must learn from the folly of their masters." Kakashi's knowing glance wore on as Jiraiya blinked his eyes slowly in agreement.

"All three of them." Shikamaru added with a pained look. Jiraiya and Kakashi shared their knowing look with Shikamaru. The sudden unspoken understanding the three had made them each crack smirks.

"Hah! Let's drink to that!" Jiraiya poured them each another shot.

Sakura felt a bit better about the predicament she and Naruto were in after talking with Ino. She had decided to stay in the bath after Ino had gone back upstairs. She still needed a lot more time to clear her head. She wanted to do right by Naruto and make sure he knew that she really cared for him and didn't just want him. But, with all the details that Ino gave her, the unknown of dealing with the Kyuubi still plagued her. Even if Gaara loved Ino and the Shukaku had chosen her, quelling the one tail's strength was one thing, but the Kyuubi, that was another. She was the most interested in how Ino said it just happened so naturally and before she knew it, her chakra had wound its way over Gaara's body. Sakura could only assume that her unknown ability, whatever it was, when it showed itself would be different.

Sakura floated aimlessly thinking about how to handle the Kyuubi in the bath water for what seemed like only a few minutes, but when her focus came back to her and she looked up at the sky, she noticed that the sun was making its descent and she had lost track of time.

She also had her ears submerged the entire time, so she missed the soft conversation between Gaara and Naruto next door in the men's bath. She missed Gaara getting up to leave. After shaking the water from her ears, she sighed. Maybe I'm just overthinking this? I guess I should just trust myself. Sakura climbed out of the water and reached for her dry towel on a nearby bench; it was then that she also realized she felt a bit light-headed. Must be too much hot water.

As she leaned for her towel and began to dry herself off, she bent over slightly to dry her legs. When she righted herself and all the blood rushed back into her head, she lost it. She felt her eyes starting to grey out and the sound in her ears getting muffled. The world was spinning and down she went.

She didn't feel her head hit the stone.

When Sakura started to regain consciousness a few minutes later, she expected to feel pain in her head from hitting the stone and was surprised when she didn't. She took a mental inventory of her body to make sure she hadn't done serious damage-serious enough that she couldn't feel it. Head, check. I don't feel any bleeding. I can feel my legs and arms. She wiggled her toes; she moved her fingers. As feeling started to fully come back to her body, she also felt the heat from hands and arms wrapping around her shoulders and her hips, cradling her. She felt the heat from someone's chest as the left side of her body leaned against it. Someone caught me?

She opened her eyes and found herself staring directly into the radiating blue eyes of Naruto; they were filled with concern.

"Sakura-chan! You're awake! You're ok!" His face shifted to show his relief.

"Naru-to?" Sakura was a still a little dazed. But, as she looked at him, she realized he must have caught her just before she hit the stone because he was sitting on the ground with her cradled against him. His skin was covered with water droplets and his hair was wet on the ends. He must have just gotten out of the bath. How did he get here so fast? She felt her pulse quicken as she realized how gorgeous he was with the water glistening on his skin.

"I saw you start to fall and I jumped over the fence to catch you." Naruto did not yet realize what he said. Sakura slowly put it together and started to sit up.

"Wait. You saw me?! Were you watching me get out of the water?" Sakura felt her adrenaline surge and her temper rise.

"YOU PERVERT! You were watching me through the fence!" Sakura was furious. She was going to hit him. She was going to kill him. As she untangled herself from his grip, he brought his left arm up bashfully to scratch the back of his head and prepare for impact from the punch she was certain to throw-just like he always did. But, something was different this time. Sakura noticed the bright red on his cheeks, and it wasn't from the bath. His cheeks seemed to glow almost like he was drunk and his pupils were dilated.

As her own butt made contact with the cold stone and she could get a look at him, she saw the cut of his pectorals as the water ran down, the curve of his neck, the line of his jaw as he set it and bit his bottom lip, the lines in his stomach as his breathing quickened, the deep groves of his hip flexor and groin muscles, and the faint trail of blond hair from his belly button, as they pointed, like an arrow, down. Then she gasped. Kneeling in front of her, Naruto was completely and utterly naked. And very, very erect.

He kept his eyes cast down for a good while-like he was unsure. He must not have had time to grab a towel before he hopped the fence.

Then, he slowly brought his eyes back up and stared at Sakura. His eyes were glowing and filled with desire. It felt as though they would bore right through her and see every part of her. He shifted his jaw again.

"Per. . .vert." Sakura whispered as a tidal wave of heat sent shockwaves over her skin. Her nipples got hard, her own pupils dilated, the lips on her face swelled and her core flooded open like a dam had burst. The sight of him completely naked, vulnerable, and erect had completely undone her.

She scampered back a bit on the stone as her control slipped even more. Holy Kages. He's huge! As she shifted, the towel that she had wrapped around her body and tucked at her breasts, that by some miracle had managed to stay on during the falling fiasco, unraveled of its own accord.

Her towel dropped to the stone. Sakura made no motion to stop it. Her control was gone. She saw only Naruto. And he only saw her.

Naruto's eyes widened as his gaze wandered and consumed her now naked form in front of him. She saw his cock pulsate at the sight of her. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He hadn't moved.

While his eyes were closed, Sakura got on all fours and crawled to him. When he opened his eyes again, she was on her knees before him. He didn't wait for her to move again. In one smooth adjustment-with lightning speed-he smashed her body into his and crushed her lips with his own. His tongue broke into her mouth-demanding, hot, filled with need. She moaned as their naked skin made contact. Naruto felt like he had been struck by lightning as he felt her nipples, her stomach, her groin press and rub against his. He pushed her body closer. She sucked on his tongue. He moaned back. They were a tangle of limbs, reaching, grabbing, squeezing.

Her nails dug into the sculpted muscle of his naked back. She pulled his hair. He ran his hands down her hips, pinching and squeezing, like she might vanish, like he might not hold her like this again. She broke her lips free of his as he caressed her and he let his head fall back as she sucked on his neck, trailing her tongue over his damp skin; she sucked, she bit. She wanted to eat him and run all of her sweat, her wetness, her heat, all over everything that was him. And she wanted all of Naruto all over her.

His hand found purchase on her naked behind and he squeezed its curve and pushed her into him again, rubbing their groins together. She cried out and her lips left his neck as she had to catch her breath.

"Naru-to!" She cried. Naruto purred and took her face in his hands, forcing it back up so he could crush his mouth back onto hers. Their noses were smashed together, their cheeks touching. Sakura felt like she was melting into him.

She wanted desperately to touch him, to squeeze him. She slid one hand between them, down his stomach, over his trail of blond hair, her hand slowed its progress as it reached the part of him that throbbed with desperate need for her. She ever so gently ran her thumb over the head of his cock. It pulsated again and he stiffened and froze. She moaned again at his reaction.

You are mine and mine alone. With that thought, Sakura confidently and firmly took all that she could of him in her hand and squeezed gently, giving his cock one pump. He growled loudly in response, and in another liquid motion, put his other hand under her head, cradling it, smashed his lips to hers, and slammed her back onto the cool stone. He didn't hurt her, but he was certainly aggressive about it. He pressed himself over her-his hands continued to squeeze and demand. They were covered in sand, and small bamboo leaves, and dirt from the ground. But it felt right somehow, outside here in the sunlight, with him.

His mouth left hers and he pushed himself up with his arm and bowed his head down. He grabbed her right breast with his other hand. She arched into him. He purred again. She could feel him twitch like he was restraining himself. Without warning, he smothered her other breast with his mouth. He nibbled on the nipple and squeezed and sucked. Sakura knew it would leave a mark. She didn't care. She wanted to be claimed by him. She felt like he would devour her. She cried out his name again and reached for the length of him once more, this time with both hands. She got a firm grip and gave his cock another pump. His mouth left her breast and he groaned.

"Sakura-chan. . ." Then he grabbed both her wrists with his other hand and pinned them over her head. Sakura was gasping for air. She was overflowing with desire for him, with heat, with electricity. She wanted him to shove himself in her. As if he could hear what was in her mind, he whispered in her ear.

"Sakura. If you do that again, there will be no stopping me. I will fuck you until you scream. I will make you pass out from pleasure. YOU ARE MINE." She heard more of a growl in his voice with the last part.

With that, he stuck his tongue in her ear and bit her lobe. Sakura was so lost in feeling him, she didn't notice the Kyuubi's chakra as it started building on his skin. She closed her eyes. The logically aware part of her was being subdued by a much, much stronger drive and need. Yes! YES! That need is what caused her to grab his back and push the full weight of him back down on top of her.

Now that she could feel the full weight of his body on her, Sakura thought she might orgasm right there. His hips, his cock, his chest, his heartbeat, his uneven breath, his heat, his blinding desire for her-she was overwhelmed by all of it. They kissed and sucked and grabbed as Sakura slowly moved her legs and her hips, so Naruto found himself nestled perfectly between them. The full length of him pressed against her groin and up the length of her stomach.

He moved his hips back and she looked up into his eyes. They were red with little slits for pupils. His canines had elongated and his whiskers were more defined. Sakura's eyes widened. This was now all wrong and she knew it. Why can't I stop myself? As if behaving on their own or controlled by another part of her, her hips lifted when he moved his hips down so the tip of his cock made contact with the outer edge of her very, very wet core. They both cried out and for a second, Sakura saw flecks of blue in his eyes again. But, they vanished as she saw not one but two tails of Kyuubi chakra grow behind Naruto.

What happened next was so fast and blinding, Sakura wasn't sure how she was able to stop him. Naruto, with his claws growing on his hands and the Kyuubi chakra beginning to surround her too, started sprouting a third tail. Simultaneously, he made a motion to grab her hips and thrust himself fully inside her. No.

Sakura launched herself off her back and on top of Naruto, pinning him. Using her chakra enhanced strength snapped her out of her trance. How could I push him like this. He's not himself. She felt terrible. As she held him down, he snarled at her. She could see all three tails snapping the air under him. Not to mention, how am I able to hold him still like this? I was never able to do this before. He writhed under her.

"Shhhh. Naruto." Sakura was starting to tear up as she noticed Naruto's skin was beginning to peel. No! This can't be happening. Captain Yamato isn't here. How do I stop this?

"Naurto!" She cried and looked into his eyes. Her own skin was starting to peel. Instead of Naruto's voice answering her, it was the deep voice of the Kyuubi.

"Haruno, Sakura. Why do you restrain us. We belong together." It growled at her. Sakura felt something in her chest, in her mind, tell her to listen to Kurama. Yes we do. What? Shutup! This will hurt Naruto. I WILL NOT do that. She mentally punched the other voice inside her mind back down.

"NO. I will not let you hurt Naruto." She growled back. "You can have me. But only if you give Naruto back his body." Naruto-or rather the Kyuubi controlling his body-cocked his head.

As Sakura struggled to continue to restrain him, she felt tears flowing freely down her cheeks, but she held firm. She wept, but grit her teeth.

"I LOVE Naruto. You can't take him. I won't let you." Renewed strength surged through her and she held him down harder. As she did so, several large clumps and strands of her pink hair tumbled out of her bun and into Naruto's face and eyes. As they made contact with his skin, he closed his eyes and sniffed them and purred. When his eyes opened again, she saw some of the red recede.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelped and searched his face. He flinched and seemed to be writhing in pain. He was fighting for control of his body. Then he got still and closed his eyes.

"Come back to me. I love you. Don't you go. I can't live without you by my side." Sakura said as she put her forehead to his. That was it. She'd said it out loud, how she actually felt. But, she didn't care. She wanted and needed him to know.

"Naruto!" She screamed and all her fear, her desire, her anguish, her desperation, and love for him surged through her. She squeezed her eyes like she could mentally will the Kyuubi down. When she opened her eyes again, she saw a glow of green chakra push out of every pore in her body and envelop the red Kyuubi chakra and start to neutralize it. One tail receded back into Naruto. She let go of her grip restraining him and cupped his face with her hands. His eyes were still closed. Completely forgetting that they were still naked, Sakura willed all of herself, all of her energy, her chakra, her very life to save him. As she stared down at his face and cried, she saw his eyes start to crack open again. They were blue. He's ok! She sighed her relief and collapsed on him and lost consciousness.

When Sakura awoke, she was laying in her bedroom in her bed linens on the tatami mats. She was back in her robe. Naruto was nowhere in sight. Sakura sat up, panicked.

"Naruto?" She cried. She glanced to her left and noticed that the sliding door out to her part of the balcony was slightly ajar. Did Naruto dress me and bring me up here?

"Forehead? When did you get in from the bath? Did you sneak in to take a nap? Lazy-ass and dreaming about Naruto again, I see." She heard Ino call to her from the other side of her bedroom door out in the hallway. Ino slide the door open.

"Tch. You really suck. If you were going to nap I would've showered instead of waiting for you for dinner." Ino was dressed in a beautiful, but fairly short, purple silk kimono. Her hair was totally down. She looked stunning.

"What time is it?" Sakura said getting some of her wits back. "And where is Naruto?" Considering I just dumped my chakra into him, I don't feel too tired. How much time has passed?

"It's time for food! And how the hell should I know? I think he's probably already downstairs in the restaurant with Granny Kagome waiting for us for dinner. Come ON! I was waiting for you to come back. I was getting worried you drowned or something you were in the bath for so long, I was about to come get you." Sakura crawled out of the tangled bedsheets and stood up. She took a glance at herself in a nearby mirror.

"O, let me get the Kimono Kagome left for you." Ino disappeared out into the hallway for a minute and returned with a pink Kimono similar to hers, but it looked far more regal and expensive and had long flowing, billowing sleeves. Sakura sighed and slipped out of her robe and found her bag with her other clothes. She rummaged for a black bra.

Ino raised her eyebrows as she slipped on the black lingerie.

"Expecting to get something good from Naruto tonight I see?" Sakura froze as she remembered what happened earlier and how she pushed him too far. That was all my fault. He'll never trust me now. She found her good luck charm just where she had left it in her bag before she went down to the bath and slipped on matching black panties. She slipped it into her black bra.

"Look, they may be black, but they are my most comfortable too."

"Surrrrre." Ino winked at her and helped her slip into the Kimono and tie its obi. Ino told her about how she spent the last hour or so avoiding Gaara and trying not to barf while she watched Shikamaru and Temari love-talk each other out on the balcony.

The girls arrived on the main floor and made their way to the restaurant.

"Why were you avoiding Gaara? What are you so afraid of?"

"I dunno. I just. . .It hurt so much to stop seeing him. It's not like he stopped calling or anything. It's like we both silently agreed to pretend nothing ever happened. And all this time, I was doing that because I figured it was just a one-time thing with him." Sakura cut in.

"Not from what Temari told us."

"Mmm." Ino looked down as they entered the restaurant. They found the rest of the group at a large table out on the balcony. Sakura felt relief wash over her when she saw Naruto sitting with everyone else.

Kagome was sitting with them at a large wooden booth. As they walked up, everyone stood up to greet them. Sakura smiled as she saw Jiraiya first. She was avoiding Naruto. What's wrong with me? Hug him!

Skipping formalities and given her emotional day thus far, she just hugged Jiraiya first. He froze at first and blushed and then hugged her back. Ino said hello to everyone, she had just seen them minutes before; it was Sakura who hadn't yet had a chance to see Jiraiya.

After she broke away from Jiraiya, Sakura caught Naruto's eye as he stood next to Jiraiya. He looked unsure of what to do. Screw it. Sakura crushed him in a huge hug too. Naruto, like Jiraiya also froze and then hugged her back warmly and buried his face in her hair. She just barely heard him whisper.

"I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan." Sakura felt her heart skip a beat. She wanted to respond and to call out to him and tell him it wasn't his fault, but he slide back into the booth with others around him.

I guess no one else knows about what happened earlier today. Sakura stole another glance at Naruto as she slide into the opposite side of the booth across from him. He looked ragged and tired, but she could tell with her medical nin abilities that he was fine and his skin had completely healed. Thank the Kages! But, that really took a lot out of him.

In her focus on Naruto, Sakura hadn't noticed that in sliding into booth as she did, it made it so that Ino was squished right next to Gaara. Both looked stiff and avoided eye contact.

Their meal progressed smoothly enough, with Jiraiya and Kagome telling some funny stories about the early days of the bathhouse and Jiraiya sharing a few stories about Tsunade. Kakashi even shared a story or two about Guy Sensei. Naruto seemed like his normal self and would periodically throw in his two cents. Sakura was calmed by the normalcy of the meal and the fact that her beloved Naruto was ok. The only odd thing was Gaara avoiding Ino and Ino avoiding Gaara. Sakura caught Naruto's eye a few times and he seemed to be holding back a bit too. She wanted to smack him out of it.

After dinner ended, and when the light of the sun was gone from the sky and the fire pits on the balcony were roaring, Kagome announced that it was time for an important story and that someone should ask what she should tell. Ino raised her eyebrows. STORY?! I just don't want to have to keep sitting here next to him.

Despite the fact that Gaara sat next to her in the small booth, they had managed throughout the entire night to avoid touching. Ino grimaced. Why did he sit next to me anyway! Stupid Sakura she wasn't paying attention and didn't sit next to me.

"So, Kagome-ba-chan? Is there a story behind the carved scene in the glass windows and doors on the second floor?" Naruto asked Kagome after she had downed her final gulp of sake for the evening. Kagome looked at the group with a faraway glitter in her eyes. The other small conversations that were going on between Shikamaru, Temari, and Sakura died down. Kakashi stopped listening to Naruto and Jiraiya talk about their most recent exploits on their last training round together and the trio turned their eyes to Kagome.

Gaara, who still sat silently beside Ino, leaned forward and put his elbows on the table, listening intently.

Ino froze as Gaara's motion brought the heat from his body closer to her own. As he raised his arms from across his chest to put his elbows on the table, his left forearm brushed against hers. She flinched as she felt goosebumps rise to the surface all over her body. Don't look at him! Don't look! We made it through dinner, just a bit longer.

It was impossible not to look. Her conscious mind said one thing, but her body did another. She thought she saw him flinch too. She thought she saw goosebumps on his skin too, beneath the many folds of his robes on his wide and firm wrists and the hint of his forearm she could make out beneath the dark cloth. More importantly, as her body went against her will, their eyes met for a fraction of a second and in that second, she saw him part his lips and lick them! Ino felt heat coil in her groin. All she could do was turn away in shyness and focus on Kagome. Thank the Kages! Focus on her! Focus on her! And Kagome was. . .smirking at her? Does she know? As quickly as Ino received a knowing look and smirk from Kagome she looked away.

Old Kagome closed her eyes and furrowed her brow and the angles cast by the dim firelight moved shadows across the wrinkles on her face. She didn't just seem old in the shadows, she seemed ancient almost like a spirit with visions in the form of shadows moving over her skin. When she opened her mouth to speak this time, her voice had changed, it wasn't the eccentric twittering of the pervy grandmother who crushed on Jiraiya, her voice became the voice of a wise-old teller of legends, a bard, or a wandering keeper of the old ways. The entire group watched her in awe and puzzlement. Only Jiraiya seemed unsurprised. She began:

"A long time ago, before the Great Sage of the Six Paths tore asunder the ten tails into the nine great beasts, the creation animals all lived in harmony. One trio was closer than all the rest.

The three they were called. They were just babies then: a tiny red fox, a small black snake, and the first green buds of a blossom tree. They lived among the grass together.

The fox would romp and play and fill the others with laughter as he acted the fool; though he was the first to have strong legs to carry him away from their haven in the grass, he never wandered far and always slept nearby; the snake, who moved more slowly than the fox but with certainty and eyes that perceived even in the darkness, would slither along the ground clearing other small creatures that sought to do the trio harm; he would sometimes join the fox in his antics; the small, demure little bud of a blossom tree was the least mobile of the three and didn't look like much as she yet had no blossom to adorn her, but she was rooted steadfast and strong to the ground. She loved both the fox and the snake as they loved her.

As the three grew older, the Fox's legs got longer and his tail became bushier, his canines could been seen in his mouth, he laughed more loudly and feared less and less; he became more brazen and more daring in his antics, wandering further from the grass. But, ever he would return with the hope of impressing the growing bud and snake. The snake grew longer and stronger: his tongue more prominent as it slithered out of his mouth; his eyes more piercing and penetrating. But, unlike the fox, he sought instead the dark places to shield himself from the bright sunlight-though he would still return to the grass to be with the fox and the beloved bud. The bud had grown into a small sapling with many leaves on her small branches but still no blossoms to adorn her. Still she stuck steadfast to the ground; though she seemed to grow the least, her roots were spreading far and wide beneath the dirt.

Then one day, when the sun was rising and dew clung to the blades of grass and the fox and snake still slept beside the young bud that had become a sapling, on the oldest of the sapling's branches, one shinning blossom with six petals opened and shown brilliantly in the morning light. It glittered and refracted light and its aroma was sweet. As the fox awoke and saw the beautiful blossom, he was struck as he felt his undying love swell for the sapling that was becoming a tree and stood transfixed and purred next to her in adoration. He nuzzled her bark and stared at the blossom. The sapling blushed at the warmth of the fox against her bark and spread her branches, showering him in the sweet scent of her blossom; she too was transfixed by the strong fox who she loved in return.

Beside the fox, the snake had awoken and taken his notice of the beautiful blossom upon the sapling in the morning light. But, he did not stay transfixed like the fox. The snake, slithering above the fox up the trunk of the sapling that had become a tree and up her branches, stretched himself out over the oldest branch of her body and toward the blossom-running his scales in a forceful way over her bark and between her stems. She shivered at his cold scales as they ran over her.

The fox growled as he watched the snake force his way over the branches of the beautiful sapling that had become a tree. The fox set back on his hind legs and launched himself in the air with the intent of knocking the snake off of the branch of his beloved tree. The fox flew through the air and hit the branch, dislodging the snake.

The snake fell to the earth and hissed angrily at the fox as he tumbled through the air. The fox, being much too big and too strong for the still small branches of the sapling that had become a tree, fell down to the earth with the snake.

When the snake and fox landed they locked eyes in rage and prepared to fight. The sapling who had become a tree could only stand steadfast and watch; she was filled with agony at seeing the snake and fox so angry.

As the two stood on the grass they had once slept on in peace ready to fight and kill each other, the solitary six petaled blossom that glittered and refracted morning light wilted and broke free from its stem atop the sapling that had become a tree and fell softly and slowly to the ground between them. The sapling wept, but the bond had been shattered. Now the fox was a fox and the snake was a snake. They were enemies. But, the fallen six-petaled blossom stopped them from killing one another before her eyes. Instead, the snake hissed loudly at the fox and slithered far away in contempt and the fox growled and growled with his hackles raised until the snake was out of sight.

After the snake was gone, the fox remained sitting beside the sapling and her fallen blossom expecting the snake to return. He waited and he sat beside the sapling that had become a tree.

As the sun set on the third day, the fox whimpered that he knew the snake was gone forever. The fox stayed by his sapling that had become a tree. As the years went by, the sapling that had become a tree slowly became a great tree with many boughs and her roots expanded further. The fox grew into a great fox and slowly grew another tail, and another and another. . .

The fox's undying love for the once small bud that became a great tree never ceased and as they grew, the small bud that was now a great tree yearned to be closer to the Great Fox and the Great Fox closer to her. But each time the fox would try to climb her trunk or jump into her branches, blossoms would fall, for the Great Fox had grown much too heavy and too strong for her boughs; the fox wept that he could not touch her. All he could do was chase the blossoms that she wept and wept for his touch as they fluttered by on the wind.

The snake never did return to the old nine-tailed fox and the great blossom tree with its roots around the world, though they both yearned for the days when they slept close in the low grass side-by-side. But, each and every morning when we see where the dew collects, somewhere the great fox opens one eye and weeps the saltiest tear of regret when a solitary six-petaled blossom falls from her branches."

Kagome opened her eyes slowly after finishing the story and the group sat in total silence for long while. It wasn't necessary to say what everyone was thinking, to mention the parallels between the story and two groups of 'three' people they all knew in the past and now. Despite the somber theme of the story, everyone at the table seemed to be lost in a trance, one caused by Kagome's story-weaving.

Ino was the first to move. She cast her eyes down at her hands and shifted in her seat. That's such a sad, sad story. She glanced sidelong at her best friend diagonally across from her at the table. More than ever before, Ino thought, Sakura didn't just look beautiful, she looked regal. Her emerald green eyes had an otherworldly glow to them. Ino caught her glance for a second and she smiled at her. Sakura smiled beautifully back but beneath the smile, Ino saw a real sadness and a bit of fear. She felt a pang in heart over Sakura and Naruto. Come to think of it. Did something already happen between them? She looked from Sakura to Naruto. He does seem really tired. She frowned again.

Ino wanted her best friend to be happy and over the years as she had watched Sakura slowly start to acknowledge her deep love for Naruto, Ino was thrilled. Deep down, Ino always thought they were the perfect match and, well, stupid Sasuke was just everyone's cool crush, though apparently, based on Kagome's story, Sasuke still had a bigger role to play. But now, with the risks caused by the Kyuubi. . . I wish there was more I could do. Ino looked back down at her hands. Beneath the feelings of concern she bore for Sakura, Ino could feel butterflies in her stomach and goosebumps building on her skin. Gaara. He must be in pain too. If this is the Kyuubi's situation, I wonder if there is a similar story for the Shukaku.

Perceiving her distress beside him in his periphery, Gaara observed Ino's shifting and uncomfortable expressions with a thoughtful expression. He studied every twitch and every move the muscles in her face made; he saw the light shift in her eyes, her thighs rub against each other in discomfort, her hands clasp and unclasp, her beautiful chest rise and fall unevenly. He wanted to be sure he didn't miss any piece of her body language. He wanted to be there for her. He knew he wasn't ever good with people, but he was determined to know everything he could about Ino and anticipate her every need or whim, no matter how small or insignificant. He continued to observe her with a calculated calmness.

Gaara stayed with his elbows on the table as Ino was lost in thought over Sakura's situation. As she thought sadly about Sakura's predicament-she noticed that Gaara seemed so very still. Is he watching me out of the corner of his eye? Damnit! I'm staring back!

Ino-now without a story to distract her-slowly found herself turning to Gaara once again. As she turned, he slowly brought the arm furthest from her back down. He let the closer arm linger on the table a bit longer. Ino's breath was coming faster and her heart was racing. Why am I freaking out?!

On the other side of Gaara, Kakashi was leaning back against the bench and staring at the ceiling with a lost look in his eyes. He even seemed a bit sad.

In the nook of the table, Shikamaru initiated PDA with Temari and wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a soft, small kiss on the mouth in the view of the others at the table. Temari blushed at her love's more aggressive actions. They nuzzled into each other's shoulders as their faces filled with color that was only magnified by the sake that had been passed around.

Kagome's face spread into an ancient, knowing grin at the sight. Jiraiya watched the kiss between Temari and Shikamaru and a fondness grew in his eyes as though he were thinking of someone else and a faraway place.

Naruto and Sakura, who sat directly across from one another with Temari and Shikamaru in between them on one side and Jiraiya and Kakashi flanking them on the other, locked eyes and for another moment, everyone else at the table seemed to freeze too and watch them.

They hadn't exactly been avoiding eye contact since the group sat down at the large booth; it was more like they were just preoccupied with their individual conversations and with catching up with everyone, although the events earlier in the day certainly played a role. But as they locked eyes now that Kagome's story was complete, the entire world seemed to stop breathing. The look was vastly different from what they both experienced hours before, naked in front of each other at the bath. There was heat and desire in this look, yes, but sadness and pain too.

Shikamaru broke the silence and took the deep stares between Naruto and Sakura as a sign.

"Well, we are heading off. See you in the morning." With that, he half-stood up and launched himself out over the back of the booth. Temari, who still held his hand smiled and quickly followed. They disappeared into the building.

Jiraiya smiled at everyone and stood up. He didn't say a word. As Naruto looked up at his godfather, he couldn't tell if it was the sake that was making his eyes water or if Jiraiya was crying a bit. As he nodded at the group, Jiraiya snatched up the almost-empty bottle of sake and sauntered back inside. Kakashi made a move similar to Shikamaru to get out of his seat, put his hands in his pockets and waved as he walked around the outer edge of the balcony away from the remaining members of the group.

Now, it was only Sakura, Naruto and Ino and Gaara with Kagome at the table. Kagome smiled again and spoke.

"Love is a fragile thing." The four turned red. With no one between them in the booth any longer, Naruto and Sakura finally broke their stare. Naruto got up first and wandered to the edge of the balcony. He didn't turn around to wait for Sakura. With a pained look in her eyes she got up to follow him.

With everyone else either inside or out of earshot, Kagome turned to Gaara and Ino as they were the only two who remained at the table. She looked at the young lovers who were still in denial about their situation and smiled. Neither one of them had moved. They were frozen. Kagome wanted to give them just a little push.

"There is a story about the great raccoon-dog and the rare-blooming fragrant plum blossom tree." Ino and Gaara shifted and listened.


	8. Marked

Chapter 8: Marked

As he walked along the outer edge of the forest that thinned out as it reached the bathhouse where the rest of his team was staying, Kakashi's thoughts continued to wander to Obito and Rin. Not that his thoughts didn't find their way to his passed teammates from time to time anyway, but Kagome's story had welled up deep feelings of sorrow and regret for what happened to Obito and Rin that he hadn't felt with such intensity in years. In fact, it was almost odd. Kakashi had long since forgiven himself and dreamt that-somewhere in the afterlife-Obito and Rin had said there was never anything to forgive. What is going on with this bathhouse?

He certainly missed his old friends and teammates and had tried to live his life since then the way that Obito and Rin would have wanted him to live it-without regret and always protecting his friends and precious people and, as time had passed Naruto and Sakura had become some of his most precious people. Not to mention, from the very beginning, Naruto had reminded Kakashi not only of his beloved sensei, the fourth Hokage, but also of Obito. Despite all these feelings distracting him, Kakashi was positive that Kagome was more than just an elderly keeper of the bathhouse; he was sure that she had some sort of powers beyond the average person. He didn't sense any malice in her, but he was realizing that listening to her story of The Three had generated more than a normal 'sad story' response in him and he assumed that it must have caused a similar response in the others as well. I wonder if the sake was spiked or had anything to do with it?

As his thoughts wandered to the sake, Kakashi's thoughts shifted from images of the faces of his young teammates to Anko's face in ecstasy.

Whoa! Kakashi wasn't quite prepared for the heat that hit him in the groin. It wasn't all that long ago that he and Anko had had a secret rendezvous in the woods; it was true that Kakashi did have some feelings for Anko. But, he kept them pretty well buried-until recently when she had announced her feelings for him and they had met alone in the woods. It had only happened once so far, but Kakashi had to admit that he hoped whatever it was with Anko would continue. Still, though, this is getting a little ridiculous. I should head back and find the others.

It was then that Kakashi knew he couldn't and shouldn't head back quite yet. Both his normal eye and his still shrouded Sharingan eye narrowed.

I'm not fooled, Kakashi thought. His sensitive and well-trained hearing had picked up noise made by those who were supposed to be deadly silent.

Despite the fact that none of the emotional eruption summoned by Kagome's story had died in him, Kakashi had always been known as one whose level of control and stoicism were legendary-now was no exception. He punched it down-Rin and Obito and Anko's purring. He called out to the two masked members of Anbu and didn't reveal a shred of his feelings in the tone of his deep voice.

"Come out and tell me exactly what it is that Danzo wants."

Kakashi spun to face precisely where he knew the two members of the Foundation would appear. They materialized before him. One wore a raccoon-dog demon mask and the other a fox demon mask. The irony of the masks was not lost on Kakashi. Very funny, Danzo. Despite Danzo's obnoxious sense of humor and the latent message he was trying to send by having his two students wear these particular masks to follow them, Kakashi had an idea of just which members of Anbu were beneath the masks and he knew they were not to blame.

He was a former member of Anbu himself and knew about the curse mark that forbade members from speaking ill of Danzo or his practices. Although he had always disliked Danzo's practices in training his Foundation members, what he detested the most about Danzo were his arrogant political views about how to run and 'protect' Konoha. He was an isolationist, an extremist, and a violent relic of the very dark past of Konoha. Plus he just hated the way he treated Naruto like a weapon or a tool instead of like the inspiring and strong man and ninja he is.

"Kakashi Senpai. We are under strict orders to observe the behavior of your team and to order you to return Uzumaki Naruto back to Konoha where he can be contained."

Kakashi knew better than to argue with the two Anbu members about Danzo's dogged belief that 'containment' of Naruto, like he was some kind of wild animal, would prevent anyone from trying to steal the Kyuubi. He knew damn well that 9 times out of 10 Naruto himself and the strength of his will and the power of his kind heart were the only things that saved and protected Konoha. Not to mention, no one could contain Naruto anywhere-even if they had good intentions. Naruto does what he wants when he wants. Kakashi learned a long time ago that it was more effective to be along for the ride, by Naruto's side helping, protecting, and encouraging him than trying to restrain him.

"Hmm. Is that all? Any other orders from Danzo?" Kakashi scrutinized the two nins in front of him. He knew they were at least two or three years younger than Naruto. Just kids. What is Danzo thinking? Why now? Has he learned about the breeding phase? Kakashi knew that was unlikely to impossible. Aside from Tsunade, Jiraiya, the Kazekage, and Naruto's other friends and peers-who would never sell out Naruto to anyone-least of all to Danzo, no one knew about Naruto and the Kyuubi's problem. There has to be a reason why he is stepping up his tactics to go after Naruto.

"Danzo-sama said that Jiraiya should be able to explain why. The threat of the Akatsuki has increased and a foe greater than Orochimaru is behind it." The young nin in the fox mask finished and turned to his companion in the raccoon-dog mask, who spoke up next.

"Kakashi-Senpai, please do as Danzo-sama asks. We suspect this foe to already be observing your team here as well. Should you come in contact with him, do not allow yourself to heed what dreams may come." With that the two Anbu members poofed and were gone.

What? 'What Dreams May Come?' Not only does that remind me of an English play I read once, what the hell does that mean? Genjutsu? Death and crossing over into hell? That sure sounds like a Genjutsu to me. Itachi? Unlikely. His Mangekyo Sharingan is certainly nothing to mess around with, but we've known for a while that Itachi isn't leading the Akatsuki.

Kakashi could only conclude that there must be another powerful Genjutsu user working behind the scenes and the odds were high that it was another user of the Sharingan. The only known living members of the Uchiha clan were Itachi and Sasuke that leaves . . . Kakashi shivered as he didn't want to continue down the path that his thoughts were taking. If he's still alive, we are in serious trouble.

With that, he made haste through the woods and back to the bathhouse to find Jiraiya. Hopefully he's not totally obliterated yet from the rest of that sake.

"HOW many BOTTLES you got back there? Bring me at least three more." Suffice it to say, Jiraiya had not only finished the remainder of the sake from the dinner with his teammates, he had managed to consume another entire bottle before reaching behind the bar in the basement of the bathhouse and rummaging-against the pleas of the barkeep-for more booze.

"See?! Here's a perfectly good bottle." He snatched up a very dainty bottle with frosted glass.

"Sir. Please. That's a sake we reserve for special occasions." The barkeep waved his arms frantically.

"Special occasions huh? Well, lemme tell youuuuu! This is a very special occasion." Jiraiya was beyond drunk; he was obliterated. The barkeep was entering a state of panic and it could be seen on his pale and tautly drawn face.

He was something of a pushover and Jiraiya in his current state didn't seem to notice the wispy barkeep's attempt at preventing Jiraiya's snatch and grab routine. He muscled open the cap to the bottle and started to put his mouth to the rim. As he did so, the last young and uppity-looking couple sitting in the back of the bar made their way upstairs with grimaces on their faces-no doubt thinking something to the effect of 'how uncouth' while scowling at Jiraiya and the wimpy barkeep. Not only did Jiraiya give zero fucks about the attitude of those around him, he was far too busy trying to drown his own misery to realize that something was very wrong about his surroundings.

Jiraiya could swear that he had managed to take at least one solid pull from the very dainty bottle of sake, and thereby determine-that despite its price and feminine-like bottle-the taste was nothing that he had hoped it would be.

"BLECH! This tastes nothing like what it's very voluptuous bottle insinuates. I expected this sake to feel like the warm embrace of beautiful women-" As Jiraiya rambled and withdrew the bottle from his lips he felt someone gently take the bottle from his hands and place it on the counter, someone that he was almost certain was not there a second ago, standing to his right in between his seat and the next barstool.

As Jiraiya turned, he saw a flash of deep-orange-spikey hair and a pair of eyes . . . Rinnegan? Ya-hi-ko . . . Nagato? It must be because I'm drunk. I'm imagining this. The hand that gripped his shoulder and sent waves of chakra energy through his skin told him otherwise.

"Hello, Sensei."

Sakura was amazed at how far ahead of her Naruto must have gotten. He only got up from the table a few seconds before I did! Where is he? She had already made her way to the edge of the restaurant's expansive balcony and was squinting into the shadows in the woods below. I don't see him anywhere. Truthfully, she couldn't see much of anything. Most of the bonfires that were lit on the balcony for the dinner service had since been put out as her group stayed behind to listen to Kagome's story.

She turned behind her. She could still see the dying light of the bonfire that was closest to the booth they were all sitting at not ten minutes earlier. She could also still make out the shadowy figures of Ino, Gaara, and Kagome sitting at the table together. She smiled to herself as she thought of Ino and Gaara. Naruto. Where are you?

Then, as if someone heard her, she made out a flash of orange sharply to her right at the furthest corner of the balcony-and the most dimly lit portion-near the service doors back into what she assumed was the kitchen.

He was sitting on the railing looking down at his hands. Relief washed over her. As she started to approach him he winced and looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Sak-ura-chan. . ." His eyes fell back down to his hands. "I hurt you again." Another wince.

"Naruto." She moved more quickly this time and reached out to put her hand on his arm without thinking; this was Naruto. She wasn't ever going to be afraid of him or stay angry at him, ever. He winced again when her hand made contact.

"Until. . ." Whatever he was about to say was causing him immense pain. She saw the strain in his eyes and the way the pain made him look suddenly older and haggard.

"Until I figure out how to control myself. You should stay away from me."

It felt like someone had twisted a knife inside her gut that she didn't know was there. She stood frozen in place as she opened and closed her mouth involuntarily as the pain of the invisible knife churning in her stomach washed over her. She dropped her hand from Naruto's arm. He closed his eyes as if the removing of her hand was her mark of agreement. After all this . . . after how long it took me to finally get up the nerve to start to show him and tell him how I feel . . .

Naruto shifted on the railing and chanced a longer gaze at Sakura, instead of keeping his blue eyes fixed on his hands as he had done moments ago. The pain in his eyes intensified and he tore his eyes away again; but this time, instead of just gluing his eyes back on his hands, in one swift motion he pushed himself off the balcony and jumped down into the woods below. The shock of how quickly he moved left Sakura speechless as she watched him disappear into the shadows of the trees. Something even deeper inside of her wailed out in agony as his form disappeared from view. I didn't even have time to tell him! NO!

"No. Come back, Naruto. You belong to me." Sakura felt herself say and believe that with more of herself than anything she had ever thought before. Deep inside her, another voice agreed and told her to move faster. She pushed herself up onto the balcony and followed him down into the trees. As she fell through the air, her Jade eyes started to glow more fiercely and her hair began to give off a scent that felt familiar to her and yet not. She only gave the slight change she felt a passing thought as her feet made contact with the soft earth.

She looked to the left where she had seen his form fade away into the trees and back to the right to give herself a better bearing on her surroundings before she took off to follow him. She noticed the edge of a part of the hotspring that wasn't used for swimming; judging from the smell of sulfur and the considerable amount of steam rising from the water, she assumed it was because this portion was a bit too hot. She also noticed that the bottom of the bathhouse and its pylons were on either side of this portion of the spring and as the water wound its way back toward the building, a sort of artificial cave was created as the water disappeared and went under the building. Maybe they use it to heat the lower levels and use the sauna?

She turned back to her left with her goal in mind. I've got to get him back to the hotspring. I've got this terrible feeling and that usually means that I shouldn't leave Naruto by himself. As she started to make her way into the woods she realized she had no idea where her orange-clothed fool had gone. She sighed loudly in frustration. O hell.

"NARR-UTO!" She yelled at the top of her lungs and waited . . . No answer. Not good. He's either ignoring me or is in trouble. He couldn't have gotten far enough away that he can't hear me. Alright, don't panic. Just find him! She stared at the treeline before her and closed her eyes. She tried to think as hard as she could about which direction he went in. Why can't I have that sense that I had of his chakra like I always do when I'm dreaming!? Wait. Nevermind. Sakura remembered that the last dream she had when she could 'sense him' was a bad one. Fuck this. Without any particular reason, she took off due east from the wall of the hotsprings resort. At least this is generally in the direction of the place I saw him last.

"NARR-UTO!" She yelled again as she went and again no answer.

Two floors above the balcony and deep in the large attached bathroom to Shikamaru's bedroom in the now empty boys' suite, Temari was stripping Shikamaru of his clothing while sucking on his neck. The shower was running. They had come into the bathroom with the primary intention of showering and heading to bed. But, like most things between Temari and Shikamaru, that wasn't exactly how it happened.

Temari-who was less buzzed and more in control of herself at the time than Shikamaru, had sauntered into the bathroom as a rather tired Shikamaru had followed and mumbled something about how troublesome alcohol was once you stopped drinking or having fun-you immediately became sleepy. Then Temari had smiled and stuck her ass in Shikamaru's face as she bent over to turn on the shower-that had stopped Shikamaru dead in his tracks. He had grabbed her ass as she simultaneously turned in his grip and they began to kiss with reckless abandon.

That's more or less how Shikamaru had found himself-with Temari as the aggressor-pressed up against the double vanity as Temari undressed him. At least he wasn't tired anymore. She had successfully pulled off his vest and shirt and decided to leave his fishnet undershirt intact. She went to work on his shorts and his hands found their way to her shirt which he took off with a quickness that only came from practiced familiarity. He smirked as he remembered how long it had taken him the first time when he had fumbled with all the straps. Now that Temari's naked back and chest were exposed to him, Shikamaru found himself to not only be significantly less tired than he was when they fumbled their way into his room, but to be aching with an incredible and adoringly familiar desire for her. Tch. She can get me to do anything whenever she wants. Who am I kidding. No other woman can do this to me. I should finally tell her. I can't keep her away from me any longer . . .

Just as Shikamaru was contemplating finally 'sealing the deal' with Temari both sexually and emotionally and thus admitting his strong feelings for her, he felt her shift away from sucking on his neck and rubbing her erect nipples against his mesh shirt and skin.

Shikamaru raised his eyebrows at her as she smirked back and kneeled before him. The steam from the shower was filling the bathroom with a warm mist; the mirror was fogged; condensation was forming everywhere-the entire effect of which was making Temari's desire for Shikamaru roar to a fever pitch. They hadn't yet slept together and Temari had decided after her talk with the girls (Ino and Sakura) at the bath house this morning that she was going to finally join herself with her wonderful fool once and for all. Consequences be damned. I love him and I know he loves me, even if he hasn't said it back. No more waiting. . .Time to show him just what I mean! But . . .maybe make him suffer a bit first, then he won't be able to stand it. Her smirk grew bigger.

The growing mirth and light in his beloved's eyes was not lost on Shikamaru. That glint in her eyes that now combined forces with her smirk only meant one thing-he was in for it. Shikamaru felt his cock throb with the promise of whatever it was she intended to do to him.

In one fluid motion, Temari shoved down Shikamaru's black-boxer-briefs, gripped his cock in her left hand, and plunged him into her mouth-or at least as much of him as she could manage. Shikamaru's knees buckled and he grinded his teeth in an effort to stifle the moan that was begging to come out.

Temari felt his weight shift drastically as she used her cheeks and lips to suck on him. He's deliberately trying not to moan or react! It regularly drove Temari crazy whenever she got physical with Shikamaru. He was always so controlled.

In all of their encounters, which thus far had only gone as far as her blowing him, some heavy dry humping, and him working his magic on her with his hands only, which still aggravated her a bit (that's another thing to remedy-he owes me some serious head), he had never made a peep. He smirked certainly, even chuckled, which Temari admittedly found extremely sexy. But, she wanted him to cry out! More importantly, neither of them had had an orgasm and she wanted one so desperately for both of them! That's right, the damn bastard didn't even finish in front of her. Talk about control. Despite his facade, Temari knew in her heart that his lazy-boy mellow attitude was his attempt at controlling a deep well of emotion. That was the funny thing about him. To everyone but her, it seemed, Shikamaru was this laid back genius without a care in the world, but she knew better.

Where his deep emotions were concerned, he was the most passionate person she had ever met. The only glimpse others ever had at the storm of feeling he kept buried was when he was grieving after the horrible death of Azuma. She knew him. She knew he needed to finally come undone and be uncorked. He needed to realize it was ok to be vulnerable with her. Something clicked in her mind. That's why he hasn't wanted to go all the way! His feelings are so strong for me that he's afraid! Temari had to re-focus on her glorious task of blowing him to keep herself from visibly rolling her eyes at her own stupidity.

I just have to figure out how to get him to realize that. She pondered as she continued to lick him from base to tip as she sucked him. He was still restraining himself. Temari remembered Ino and Sakura telling her earlier in the day not to give up! Time to step up my tactics.

As she continued to match an agonizingly slow rhythm on his cock between her mouth and her left hand, Shikamaru felt beads of sweat start to form on his forehead from his concentrated effort to not cry out at the pleasure she was giving him and the simultaneous frustration he felt that she wasn't going faster. It felt so much harder than normal to control his instincts. He felt like he was going to burst-in more ways than one. If only she knew how hot she makes me and how hard it is to restrain myself from blowing my load with all the little things she does. Thank god I took care of business before dinner!

His certainty a few minutes before about finally going all the way with her started to waver. He could feel his body throb with the need to take her and show how much she meant to him. She'll think I'm a weak fool and a pervert at that. He thought of all the times he had to excuse himself to go to the bathroom-even when they were just on a mission or hanging out with friends and she bent over, or moved a certain way. He literally had to go into the bathroom to finish himself off for fear of groping her in public half the time. Everyone will know I'm a bigger cry baby than Naruto and a bigger horndog than Jiraiya. Phhhht. Only she does this to me.

Terrified of what he thought of as emotional weakness, his face grimaced as he imagined her laughing at him and the inevitable tears of love and joy he knew he would cry at being joined with her. Tch. I'm the troublesome one. Just as that thought crossed his mind, he felt Temari stop her ministrations, which jolted him out his simultaneous reverie and pain.

His grimace at the loss of her touch earned a smirk from Temari who gave his cock one more lick for good measure and then stood up. Shikamaru remained still as he watched her slowly remove her shorts and fishnets.

She locked eyes with him as she stood only in her royal purple thong before slowly pushing it completely off. Shikamaru's pulse skyrocketed and he felt his cheeks color at the sight. It wasn't like they hadn't seen each other naked in bits and pieces before, but to see her completely bare before him disarmed him. He swallowed hard. His Temari was forward, but even this calm confidence and complete vulnerability before him was new.

He shifted his weight and figured it was only fair that he follow suit. He fully removed his boxers and stepped out of them and shrugged out of his fishnet undershirt. Her eyes widened at the sight of him. But, she resumed her plan. She slowly removed all the pins securing her hair and let it fall to her shoulders. The steam from the still running shower made the ends start to curl.

He moved like he was going to reach out for her and embrace her, but she got to him first and gripped his wrists with her hands and shook her head. He swallowed again-harder this time. Confident that he understood, she released his wrists from her grip and slowly reached up-holding his gaze all the while-and let down his hair.

She just barely heard his sharp intake of breath. He loves it when I touch his hair, but he never lets me take it down like this. He did this time. His own hair hung down to his chin it was thick and made him look a bit like a punk rock star. All the girls would forget Sasuke's crappy hair and fawn all over my baby if they saw this! Too bad bitches! He's allll mine! She blushed. Again he made a move to reach for her. No. Things will go the way they always do if I let you do that right now.

Instead of restraining his wrists again, she put one arm up to block and re-direct him like they were fighting and used the other hand to gently twist his right nipple.

"OW! Bitch!" His voice was heavy and laden with desire and he said it with more passion in his eyes than she had ever seen. Again, he acquiesced to her demands not to touch her.

Shikamaru noticed that he was starting to tremble from the need to feel her.

"Tch." He grit his teeth and tried to cover his state with mock exasperation and watched her as she stepped back wondering what she had up her sleeve.

Gotcha Shika! She bit her bottom lip and smirked at him.

He could feel his body pulsate more strongly with need for her. Can't run and finish myself this time! As he grew nervous at what this would mean, he cocked another eyebrow at his beloved. What is she doing?

Temari turned around, giving him a nice view of her ass. When she was sure she had his full attention again, she bent over, completely exposing her womanhood in full view to him.

He almost fell over and bit his cheek with the effort to remain quiet. He could taste the coppery flavor of his own blood as he knew he bit too hard. He had never seen her-all of her-like this. Their encounters that involved him touching her had always involved either clothing, darkness, or angles such that he never caught a glimpse of her. There was a reason he avoided it. He knew it would undo him. And he was right.

He felt pre-cum drip out of the tip of his cock. And then, Temari heard the most subtle and sexy sound in the world erupt from his mouth-so quiet that if she hadn't been listening, she would not have heard it. He moaned.

Temari moaned back in response. Satisfied beyond her wildest dreams that she had him, she went for the killing blow. She glanced over her shoulder and saw her wonderful Shika's chest rising and falling with his rapid breathing-one hand white-knuckled on the edge of the sink, the other digging into his thigh like he so desperately wanted to touch himself. Then she met his gaze, the rolling fire in his eyes let her know that the dam was cracking. She moaned again seeing him like that.

Then she went for it, with her left hand spread on the wall in front of her for balance, she reached her right hand over her ass and ran her fingers over her lips, and plunging two fingers deep inside her achingly wet core, she began to pleasure herself. She heard him before she could react.

She heard a crack that sounded mildly like he must have broken the sink-and that was her only warning. The next thing she knew, his shadows, that were his signature jutsu, roughly grabbed her hips and tilted her up, pushing her roughly forward and flush against the cool tile wall. The shadows spread to her ankles and gripped hard, spreading her legs apart. She gasped in pleasure.

And then he was there-slammed against her back and her ass. His hands moving up to roughly thread his fingers through hers as they were spread on the wall. His breath was hot and fast in her ear.

"Now it's my turn." His whisper was followed by his tongue on her neck and a bite on her ear. Temari felt her nipples sharpen against the tile. Yes! Yes!

He removed his right hand from its place threaded with hers and squeezed her ass cheek. She whimpered at his touch. Then, he gave the same cheek a hard slap. She cried out his name. His voice was back at her ear.

"I cannot see any solution to this standoff of ours that doesn't end with me fucking your brains out, which means, I should tell you something very important before I do. I love you, Temari and always have. I will never share this part of me with another soul. You are my one and only."

Temari felt overwhelming emotion surge through her and the first edge of tears of happiness in her eyes.

He slapped her ass again-hard. She moaned at the pleasurable sting it left on her flesh.

"I love you too, Shika. You are the only one in the world for me." His heart clenched hearing her say that. He felt his own tears of happiness in the corners of his eyes.

"I know. But, unfortunately, my love, you have undone me and I only accept your pleasure as recompense for how long I have waited and how many nights and moments I spent only with my hand instead of inside of you."

Temari felt her insides clench involuntarily as a mini-orgasm rocked her at his words. All talking ceased from that point forward.

Ino was surprised-surprised at how quickly she felt the need to sleep overtake her. She had been so enthralled by Kagome's story of the plum blossom and the raccoon dog and the obvious implications for her relationship with the Kazekage that she hardly noticed the need to sleep sneak up on her and impact her like running headlong into a brick wall. But once Kagome finished her tale, Ino felt her eyes drooping.

Despite her own ignorance of her current state, Gaara was not so oblivious. They had both remained frozen solid in their previous positions at the table during Kagome's telling of the second story, but all the while Gaara had been completely attentive to Ino's state beside him. The need to care for her roused him from his position and he slowly turned to face her now nearly sleeping form. He was careful not to touch her as he moved.

Kagome watched with a knowing smile on her face as she got up from the booth. "Trust your instincts my dear Kazekage." Gaara paused in his actions at looked up at Kagome with a puzzled expression as she began to walk away.

"Goodnight, young ones." She said over her shoulder as she headed inside.

Gaara knew they were now the only ones still out on the balcony, but that was irrelevant at the moment. Ino was uncomfortable and needed rest. Now as he faced her fully with his hips pivoted in his seat in the booth so he could gaze at her sleeping form, he decided he needed to move her upstairs for her to rest properly, which would mean touching her. His face colored at the idea.

As he hesitated and worried that she would not want such attentions from him again-even innocent as they would be at the moment, in her now fully asleep state, she slumped over and rested her head on his shoulder and chest. His eyes widened at the contact and he was frozen in place again. Afraid that any movement would make the moment end, he stayed stalk still, unsure of what to do next.

Then he felt her move again in her sleep. She nuzzled deeper into his shoulder and now his chest, breathed deeply like she was reveling in his scent, and sighed contentedly. Gaara was dumbfounded.

After their only private meeting, which still felt very much like a dream to Gaara-when they had split ways-he figured that was it; that was all she would grant him.

It never crossed his mind that he deserved anything more. He was still in awe of her and that she let him inside of her and touch her the way he had that night. He felt unworthy to be touching something so beautiful, to be inside someone so wonderful. Gaara had never had a relationship with a woman before and while he knew some forms of love-his siblings, his passed mother, his people as Kazekage, his closest friends-he had never known this: this smoldering and burning ache inside of him to be close to someone in anyway possible, to make them happy regardless of what weakness it might reveal in himself, to want to protect someone more ferociously than he ever felt anything in his life.

This smoldering ache could never be snuffed out, no matter how much Gaara poured himself into his work as Kazekage or how hard he trained. It pained him more than any of those first physical wounds he felt in the Chuunin exams, or his death after Shukaku was extracted from him, or even the hollow loneliness he felt in his younger years; it pained him and it simultaneously made him feel as if he had never been alive until her. And he was stronger because of her. But he never allowed himself to hope with a shred of his existence that he would ever be permitted to touch her again.

Yet here she was, her head on his shoulder, her breathing even. He stared down at her angelic face and the way her eyelashes fluttered so slightly with her breathing as she slept against him. The world stilled around him as he heard only her breathe and felt only her heartbeat against him. He could stay like this until the end of the world and need nothing more-expect nothing more.

The constant smoldering she birthed within him had been stoked to a righteous flame and he felt his body reacting to her of its own accord, however. His pulse quickened, his skin tingled. His groin surged with blood.

But, she had only fallen asleep on him, he reasoned, she was unaware that it was him. He would take her upstairs so she could rest. He shifted again so he could fit one arm around her torso and another beneath her legs without disturbing her and cradle her bridal-style back into the bathhouse.

As he got he got her body into position, he had to shift his shoulder and thus her head a bit in order to pick her up. He froze again when he felt her move and saw her face turn into a grimace.

Have I hurt her?

He remained still with one arm beneath her legs and the other wrapped behind her shoulders as he was just about to stand and carry her off the bench. She shifted her body closer to his and leaned into his touch. She was positioned now so that her head was much closer to his erratically beating heart.

She nuzzled him again. Gaara waited.

But this time, she moaned sweetly. Gaara felt every pore in his body come alive; he remembered hearing such a melodious sound before. She is dreaming.

"Mmmm. Gaara."

Hearing that made Gaara twitch with a tremor of pleasure—as though his body were having a reflexive memory of what she had done to him that night when she moaned his name in much the same way. Not only did his body react, but Gaara found himself feeling a surge of pride and possessiveness at the sound of her moaning his name, even if it was only while she slept. He decided he needed to get her upstairs and behind closed doors as quickly as possible. He didn't want to share these noises she made with another soul. It was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard and hearing them again made his need to keep her to himself come alive.

He stood up the rest of the way with her tucked gently against his body and rather than walking back into the resort, he used his sand to teleport them directly into his bedroom. As they arrived, he gazed down at her again to make sure the teleportation hadn't disturbed her in anyway. He noted a few stray grains of his sand on her check and nose. While he felt the compulsory urge to clean her and keep any of his own bodily excretions off of her angelic face, that very possessive part of him loved seeing his sand on her like this.

I want to see it everywhere. Gaara blanched and blushed at his own thoughts as he carefully laid her on his neatly turned down futon. He turned to ensure that his bedroom door was locked from the inside as he had left it earlier in the evening and made to remove his outer robes and put that neatly with his other things. He also carefully removed his sandals.

Then he turned to observe Ino again. Deciding that her comfort was more important than any embarrassment he may feel, he made his way back to the futon and knelt on the tatami mat beside her still soundly sleeping form. Then he reached down and carefully removed her sandals and set them aside. Seeing that she hadn't stirred at all when he removed her shoes, he figured he could keep going.

Next, he pulled off her knee guards and set them with her sandals. Deciding immediately that anything else would be entirely inappropriate, Gaara left her Kimono intact and carefully draped the blanket over her—but not without first breathing in deeply to capture her scent deep inside his brain. Gaara stared at her serene sleeping face once more and stood up. Although he was shy about many things involving Ino, he was not shy about his own body—at least not too severely.

Deciding he would shower before sleeping on the tatami mats to give her the privacy of the futon, he removed his inner robe and his shin guards that he wore beneath his pants. Rather than taking it any further and causing her discomfort if she did wake up, he headed into the large attached bathroom in just his pants and shut the door.

Ino felt so warm and so comfortable. Ahh. Sleep was such a wonderful thing. But, it was strange, because she didn't remember climbing into bed. In fact, she could swear that the last thing she remembered was falling asleep at the booth outside with Kagome and—oh god—Gaara. Did she really fall asleep on his shoulder like she had a feeling she did? How mortifying.

Sighing and deciding she should get up and shower regardless of how she ended up in her own bed, she opened her eyes. Not noticing anything different or off about the ceiling as she stared up at it—all the suites were nearly identical after all—she sat up and as she looked around she noticed her own shoes and knee guards next to the futon.

That's strange, I don't remember my futon bedding being bright crimson like this. She thought absently as she looked down at the bedding she was nestled in. Then she saw another pair of boots and clothing closer to the suite door. As if her brain needed a minute to reset, and perhaps too because the only light source in the room was emanating from under the bathroom door, she deftly noted that the shower was already running.

Oh my god. Oh my god. Those are Gaara's robes. And this is his room! And he's in his shower, which means he's NAKED!

"Eep!" She squeaked and felt a bit like a 10 year old girl on the playground saying boys had cooties.

But, damnit, this was the guy that she lost her virginity too and—damnit again—she still very much had feelings for and he all but stopped talking to her and pretended nothing ever happened. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she vaguely remembered what Temari had told her earlier in the day about Gaara's recent emotional state. But, whether it was because she just woke up in the Kazekage's bed for the second time in her life or because she was still dealing with her sleep-logged brain—she couldn't grasp the meaning of what was right in front of her face. Sadly, she is a blonde—all jokes aside.

She did a quick once over of herself and noticed she was still fully clothed—albeit her Kimono was slightly ruffled and her obi was loose.

"Well there goes my hope of not embarrassing myself—but at least I'm still dressed." She muttered. Time to go. As Ino attempted to extricate herself from the tumble of crimson red blankets that still bore the incredible scent of Gaara—the late afternoon sun brushed with juniper and of course warm undulating sand—she heard a noise that filled her with dread.

The bathroom door opened and out stepped Gaara clad in his dark grey tactical pants that he famously wore under his crimson robe. He was bare from the waist up. With his pants slung low on his hips—revealing his well-defined hip flexor, skin that glowed like fresh snow, healthy pectorals, cut abdominals and a faint trail of red hair that lead from his belly button and into the most evil pair of pants Ino had ever seen—Gaara hadn't noticed she was awake yet because he was toweling his hair with his eyes closed.

There is a god. Deciding that she had no other options at this point but to pretend to still be asleep, Ino silently slid back into the covers and closed her eyes. She heard him throw the towel back into the bathroom and the soft padding of his bare feet across the tatami mats as he made his way to the futon.

Ino had to force herself to keep her breathing even so it looked like she was asleep. She could feel him kneel next to the futon—feel him hovering over her. What is he doing? That was when he reached out and ever so gently traced her jaw with two of his fingers, so light and gentle it could have been air. Ino was unable to hide the intake of breath that escaped her as he did so.

Like a child that had burned his hand on a hot stove, Gaara snatched his hand back. Without thinking, Ino opened her eyes to meet his. She saw the range of emotions flicker across his face: concern, embarrassment, fear, loneliness, and most endearingly to Ino, shy affection flavored with desire.

Feeling that he had over-stepped his bounds and struggling with her looking directly at him, Gaara looked down to break the spell and made to get up and move away. Ino reached out and grasped his wrist firmly with her hand before he could move away. He froze, but didn't raise his gaze.

He was so close to her like this—as she was curled up on her side on the futon and as he was kneeling near her face. When he didn't move again she released his wrist and allowed her hand to float up to rest on his chin and cheek—tilting his face back to look at hers.

She could see his chest rise and fall more rapidly at her touch. When he met her gaze again—she was surprised by the sharp change in the emotion she found in his eyes. They were hooded with need and passion. Ino felt more than remembered the spell that look had put on her once before. She ran her thumb over his bottom lip.

As her thumb was making a second pass over his lip, his eyes closed and he parted his lips, stuck out his tongue and licked her thumb.

She gasped. He groaned ever so softly in response. Never one to be called un-aggressive, Gaara moved in for the kill and bent over her and crushed his lips to hers. All hesistancy forgotten, Ino raised her hands to thread in Gaara's hair and tug and press him into her. He had his hands braced on either side of her form as her upper body twisted to meet his lips, but her lower body was still positioned sideways and very much tangled in the sheets. As if he could sense her lack of comfort he broke their kiss to shred the blankets from her legs so she could adjust; he stretched out to meet her body as it was now flat on the futon.

When he settled between her thighs and his exposed and her still clothed chest made contact, they both closed their eyes and moaned at the contact. Although neither knew this about the other—they hadn't had any contact with anyone of the opposite sex since that night. Needless to say, they were starved and dying for the contact.

Their lips met again in a searing kiss as Gaara probed Ino's now parted lips with his tongue. Her tongue found his and he rolled his pelvis into hers. Unable to breathe or even think with the overwhelming pleasure of him on top of her and kissing her, Ino broke their kiss and tossed her head back onto the pillow and cried out at the feel of his erection pressing into her clothed core.

Gaara's eyes roved over her very obvious pleasure like a man on fire. He hastily tugged on the neckline of her kimono. His mind had long since succumbed to the need to be close to her, his most precious person; all his normal hesitancy had burned down the second she touched his lips.

As Ino felt her Kimono loosening, her body was screaming for the pleasure that only Gaara had ever brought her. No matter how many toys were recommended to her by her girlfriends or how many trashy novels she read, nothing compared to what he did to her—in just one night together. Ino didn't know the meaning of an orgasm without Gaara. She knew it was how powerful her feelings were for him that made his every touch set her alight; but, that same part of her was terrified of getting hurt again.

She reached out and stayed his hands as he made to tug her Obi off with her own. Gaara froze, the raging fire in his eyes calmed momentarily as he gazed with concern at her.

"Gaara . . . what am I to you?" His eyes widened at the question and he eyed her cautiously for a minute like she had asked him for some Kage secrets.

"Medicine. The best kind." He said softly as his eyes bored into hers.

"Medicine?" Ino was lost.

"You're a medic nin. You know all about what heals injuries and the best way to re-set broken bones. But, what best heals a broken heart? You are the strongest form of medicine for a broken heart I have ever felt, so strong that I suffer without it. When you are gone, it burns when I'm awake and keeps me awake when I try to sleep. It hurts deeper than any wound I have ever known and my sand cannot protect me from it. I am addicted to your medicine and this ache deep in my heart is only gone when you are close." Ino stared at him dumbfounded.

As if he were concerned she might not interpret him correctly, he took one of her hands and had it trace the "love" tattoo on his forehead.

"You are a love more powerful and healing than any I have ever felt or experienced." Ino was tearing up at this and, for the first time in her life, she was completely speechless.

Gaara misinterpreted her tearing eyes for pain and withdrew his hands from her and started to move away. The movement caused Ino to snap out of her thunderstruck state as she noticed the deep pain and self-consciousness in his eyes as he withdrew. She grabbed his face in her hands before he could withdraw any further.

He was still laying over her and looked at her again with those beautiful sea-foam green eyes as though he had just seen a shooting star.

"Why are you crying? Are you pain? What medicine do you need?" He was stumbling over his words trying to take care of her and Ino's heart swelled even further with how unbelievably sweet it was.

"I need . . ." she was being cruel—making him wait to find out how to heal what ails her. He looked ready to charge into action to help her.

"I need Gaara. I need his love, because I love him too." Then Ino really did see something as rare as a shooting star. Gaara smiled.

Now it was Ino's turn to be aggressive as she brought her lips to his in a searing kiss; she guided his hands back to her kimono as she fully removed her Obi. He let the untraditional kimono part open to reveal the red lace bra and match thong she had on beneath. He growled in pleasure and dove for her now fully exposed neck and sucked with reckless abandon. Ino could feel the pleasure-pain of the bruise that was forming where he worried the skin over her jugular. She dug her nails into his shoulders as he swept his arms beneath her back inside the kimono and drew them both up into a kneeling position—chest to chest. She released her grip on his shoulders only long enough to slide her arms out of the kimono. Gaara reached behind her to fumble with the bra clasp as his mouth left her neck and found its way to her ear.

"I don't ever want to be without you again. I can't stand it. I'll do anything." He spoke softly in her ear. Ino could feel his sand defense starting to whirl in the air around them like it had that night.

"You have me. Forever. But, I need you inside me so desperately right now that it hurts. Right now, your cock is my medicine." Ino—always the crude one—whispered back into his ear.

Without hesitation and with a deep groan in response, now that his most precious one told him what she needed and that it was him, Gaara smoothly unbuttoned his pants and freed his erection while his sand lifted her ass and simultaneously sat her on him as he sat on the futon.

With the sand acting as back support for both of them—pushing their chests impossibly close together, Ino felt Gaara's hand shove her thong to the side as rubbed the tip of his erection first against her bundle of nerves at the peak of her folds and then against her lips.

She cried out his name and in one fluid motion he sheathed himself inside of her.

Sakura had been walking for what felt like hours, but she knew it had to only be about 45 minutes, but she still hadn't found her blonde idiot and she still felt just as uncertain about the direction she had chosen to follow him into the forest as she did when she first set out. Her panic was growing by the minute; she wasn't exactly sure what she was afraid of—she just had this strong sinking suspicion that something bad was going to happen.

Then as if the universe liked playing jokes on her, she realized that she had passed the same dead pine tree not 10 minutes ago.

"Fuck. Genjutsu." How could she be so stupid!? In her panic to find Naruto, she had let her guard down and wasn't paying as much attention to her surroundings. Not to mention this stupid informal pink kimono was driving her crazy. She felt ridiculous and wished she had her ninja tools at her disposal. She only had the foresight to put one small kunai on a thigh strap for emergencies.

"Release." But the Genjutsu remained, which Sakura knew meant this Genjutsu user was really, really skilled. Not good at all. Deciding to play along with it and deal with her assailant sooner rather than later, she stopped walking and sighed.

"Look, dipshit, you got me. So do what you are going to do and be done with it. Either torture me or fight; the old 'walking in circles' Genjutsu technique is really boring and overdone." She heard movement behind her and was that a chuckle? She thought she simultaneously felt the Genjutsu illusion lift. Finally. But before she could finish charging her fists with chakra, she felt the edge of cold steel at her throat.

"Sakura." His voice was in her ear and she could just barely feel his chest against her back—a voice and chest she was all too familiar with. She clenched her jaw.

"Sasuke."


	9. Eyes for You

Chapter 9 : Eyes for you

Before she could collapse his skull and put an end to him like she had always wanted to, she felt his other hand—lightning fast—come around her middle, squeeze her left breast—hard—and pull her to his chest. _What the fuck?!_

She also felt what she could make out as white snakes coil around her thighs, under her kimono, over her exposed buttocks in her thong and back out the top of the neckline of the kimono—loosening the fabric. She knew from her experience fighting Orochimaru that these were chakra binders and she felt her chakra enhanced strength flicker out.

"I didn't know you were into bondage." She said with bite in her voice.

"Things change. But some things don't. I've come back to remind that dobe that you were always mine and that you still are."

"What!? You sure have a weird way of showing how much your property means to you, which I certainly am not. Plus, what makes you think I still give a shit about you, Sasuke? You abandoned us and I am all out of forgiveness or pity for you. You tried to kill Naruto for the last time. I feel nothing for you now and I realize that what I felt for you before was infatuation, nothing more."

"Hmm. I beg to differ Sakura."

His hand wandered inside her kimono and beneath her black lace bra as he smirked at her already perked nipple. He pinched it. Sakura cursed the chill in the air for her nipples cutting glass. But, she wouldn't give the douche the satisfaction of a response to his actions by trying to explain it. She'd just have to bite her tongue and get him to let his guard down somehow so she could teach him the true meaning of Sadism. Thankfully, he chose the opposite breast from where she kept her good luck charm stashed in her bra and he seemed not to see it as he shifted her now exposed right breast.

"Besides, that urusatonkachi is occupied with Madara right now. I don't think he'll be coming to help you."

"What!? What have you done to him?"

_Is he talking about Uchiha Madara? Thank god Shishou let me read those classified files on the ninja wars. Maybe those theories about where Orochimaru's resurrection technique really came from are true. Shit. This is not good._

He didn't answer her. Sakura's panic was making her skin crawl. Never mind that Uchiha Sasuke was coming on to her—she wasn't worried about that. She knew she could kick his stupid ass—she just needed an opening. What she was worried about was Naruto losing it without her there to protect him. It was her nightmare all over again. And if those theories about how a powerful Sharingan user can manipulate the Kyuubi were true, she had to find Naruto and fast. But, first, she had to dispose of her 'friend.'

Sakura noticed then—awkwardly—that Sasuke was sniffing her like he was getting high on her. He actually groaned into her neck.

"Sakura. What have you done. You smell so infectious." His nose was at her neck and in her hair again. This was beyond weird. A voice inside her head told her to use it.

_Use what?_ She sighed despite herself in exasperation as she felt Sasuke's mouth ghost over her throat and as his hand resumed pinching her nipple. She struggled in his grasp and as if to remind her who had control, he pressed the blade into her throat just enough to a few drops draw blood. Sakura figured playing along might be her only chance to get him to withdraw the chakra restraints.

"If you kill me, how will you be able to have your fun with me, Sasuke?" She was not adding the "kun" at the end of his name ever again, even it was for the sake of getting him to believe that on some level she wanted this.

"Hn." He grunted into her throat as Sakura felt his tongue make contact with her neck and he lapped at the few drops of blood that had formed on her neck.

She had to resist the urge to gag. Now she really wanted to feel his skull collapse around her fist. She knew she didn't have feelings for Sasuke anymore, but she never imagined her reaction to him would be this negative and violent. It felt wrong on every single level. All she could see in her mind's eye was Naruto's face and the piercing cerulean blue of his eyes.

Against her own natural reaction, Sakura willed herself to tilt her head and allow Sasuke better access to her neck. He dove for her neck like a vampire and latched his lips to her and sucked. Sakura rolled her eyes. _Like a damn puppy to a food dish. I take it his time as a missing nin hasn't been good to his libido._

She felt his teeth bite the skin at her jugular and pull. There would be a hickey there soon. She tossed her head in an effort to flick him off her neck and the result of the movement was that her hair tumbled completely out of its updo and the comb that had been barely hanging on to her hair through her attempts to find Naruto in the forest for the past hour or so and tumbled to the forest floor. As her pink hair tumbled with it, she felt what seemed like a tremor go through Sasuke's body as his chest was still flush with her back.

"Unngnghhh." He moaned in her ear.

"Sakura. Your smell. . ." His body shook again. Sakura remained still, unsure if this new development would be in her favor or not.

"Hn. This pain that didn't go away after I killed my brother—I thought it was because of what Madara told me and the guilt I felt for. . .because of what your beloved Konoha did to my brother and to my clan. What Konoha ordered my brother to do to our clan. But that wasn't all of it."

_What the hell is he talking about? Why would Konoha order Itachi to slaughter his clan?_

"It's you. I've had these urges—these incredible urges to bite you." With that he nipped at her neck again and as he withdrew his mouth, he groaned in pleasure. Sakura tried to control her flinch as she felt his growing erection stabbing her in the back.

"I've had these urges to shred your clothing." He tugged further at the hem of her Kimono and gripped her right breast in a death lock. She felt his left arm, the one that had the steel blade of his katana at her throat start to loosen. _Yes this is my chance._

"I've had these urges to fuck you until you scream in pain and pleasure." The sword arm was dropping and as it fell, she heard his Katana bounce off her hair comb as it too tumbled to the forest floor.

With urgency, his now free left arm squeezed her exposed left thigh and roamed dangerously close to her inner thigh and still clothed womanhood. Ok, maybe this new development wasn't entirely in her favor. The chakra restraints remained still—so far. Sakura hoped.

"These urges have kept me from sleeping. Make it hard for me to focus on my greater purpose." He squeezed her neck—in a strong chokehold. Sakura felt her chest tighten with the lack of oxygen.

But, just when she thought she would have to make her move now to prevent him from choking her into unconsciousness, he relinquished his grip on her throat.

"I want to kill you. For distracting me from finding and killing the object of my ultimate revenge from that pathetic excuse you call a family in Konoha. But I . . ." He actually sounds truly conflicted.

"I can't!" He growled out the words.

"For months now, your image has been parading through my brain." He ground his hardened cock into her butt. This time Sakura did flinch.

"Madara was right when he warned me about your coming of age. But I didn't understand—didn't believe—didn't think it would truly affect me. I had to come and see you for myself to prove him wrong. But I see now, that my real reasons for needing to see you were because of these urges."

With that she felt his left hand lift the edge of her kimono—and, thankfully, at the same time the chakra restraints (snakes really) vanished. With the restraints gone, Sakura felt her chakra pulse throughout her body faster than she expected-warm and clean and sparking with anger. She felt almost overwhelmed by its power.

With speed she didn't know she ever had, Sakura rounded on Sasuke as his surprised glance met her face. Her jade eyes glowed like they were radioactive and her hair lifted in a wind that was caused by the slowly expanding and pulsating wave of green chakra emanating from her body. With one hand, she gripped his neck and lifted him clean off the ground—despite their height difference.

Sasuke was transfixed by her and completely enraptured by her for reasons he could not fathom. His arms hung limp at his sides as she gripped him. His Sharingan was activated reflexively in defense—but his brain was unable to command it. Somewhere deep in his mind—his sense of self as Uchiha Sasuke warned him that she wasn't just mesmerizing him—she was controlling him and that he had to do something. But, he didn't. He had to simply admit that Haruno Sakura had overpowered him.

"Unfortunately, Sasuke, I do not reciprocate your urges." Sakura's voice sounded different to her own ears. It sounded like two voices speaking together and filling the entire forest with their power with each syllable.

"The Great Blossom tree no longer suffers the advances of the Snake. Her love belongs to the Great Fox and the Great Fox alone."

With that she hurled Sasuke half-way across the small clearing with one arm. His back slammed into a tree and he bounced to the ground with blood on his lips and shrapnel from his impact with the tree imbedded in his back.

The green aura undulating and pulsating around Sakura reminded Sasuke of the cloak of the nine-tails from the last time he had fought Naruto. Somewhere in his mind, he heard Madara's obnoxious warning: "if you encounter her, you will really come to understand how much stronger they both are and that not even in the beginning were you any more worthy."

"Tch." Sasuke commanded his Mangekyo to erupt and for the blades to spin. Sakura moved in on Sasuke again with the intention of pummeling him unconscious. Sasuke made to get up, but stumbled forward again onto his knees.

Sakura felt herself smirking as she looked at Sasuke like he was her prey. _No. This isn't me! I would never take pleasure in hurting someone—even him._ She moved in on him again and extended chakra to all ten of her fingers, elongating her fingertips several inches with chakra forming the shape of ten brutally long scalpels. _Stop! Why isn't my body listening to me!?_ Sakura only managed to slow her progress to Sasuke's body by small increments. But, even with her efforts, she eventually found herself standing over him like an executioner.

Sasuke was still on his knees with his head bowed—breathing heavily—as Sakura felt herself raise her hand in preparation to bring it down right on his neck. Whether she was really lucky or unlucky, she wasn't sure, but at that precise moment, Uchiha Sasuke raised his head and bored his spinning sickle Mangekyo eyes into hers.

"Amaterasu!"

Sakura screamed as the rolling black fire bit deep into the flesh of her shoulder and adhered to the tree behind her. As she toppled onto her knees in front of Sasuke so they were practically face to face on the ground, she took a panicked glance at her shoulder and momentarily forgot how close she was to the dangerous Uchiha.

Expecting to see the black flames licking into her chest and no doubt continuing their progress toward her chest and organs with only one intent—to destroy everything and anything in their path, Sakura was instead mystified by the fact that her own green chakra seemed to be counteracting the black flame created by Sasuke's. Somehow, the progress of the fire seemed to be halted at her shoulder blade.

She watched dumbfounded as the wall of her green chakra glowed bright and surged at her shoulder, like it was creating a barrier. Glancing further down at her arm, however, Sakura could see the flesh melting away. Her eyes blurred at the wave of agony and pain that washed over her as she looked at her arm. It was as though looking at it materialized the pain for her somehow. She cried out and, out of reflex, her other arm reached toward the searing and slowly melting flesh in an attempt to heal it. She hesitated, wondering if her chakra would listen to her now when it wasn't moments before when she nearly killed Sasuke.

Behind her she could vaguely make out the smell of burning wood and a loud boom as the tree cracked and fell, thankfully away from her, as the rolling fire continued to spread.

_Screw it. I need this arm to teleport out of here and if I'm going to try I better do it now before I really pass out from the pain._ Her vision fluttered black again for effect as if to emphasize that she was running out of time.

As Sakura decided that she had to at least try to heal her own arm, and that would have to mean risking getting her other hand in contact with the black flames, she heard the sound of a body shifting next to her. She froze. Remembering who she was laying next to on the forest floor, she turned her head.

She saw the haunting pinwheel of Sasuke's Mangekyo staring back at her. Blood was weeping from both eyes. She paused, expecting him to use his infamous clan's ability on her again, but he didn't. He merely stared back at her. He opened his mouth as if to say something and instead grunted out in pain as he clutched at his left eye, which seemed to be bleeding more prominently than the other eye.

Sitting so close to him, Sakura no longer felt the overwhelming urge to kill him; instead as she glanced at the worn lines around his eyes and how drawn and gaunt his face looked, she just felt sorry for him and sorry for the friendship the three of them used to have.

She turned back to her prior goal of healing her arm as she could feel the sweat gathering on her brow from the pain. _Shit I must be starting to go into shock._ She looked down to her arm and could see bone. _Shit!_

She had to focus on getting out of here and finding Naruto. If Madara was really here. . .She had to hurry. Her chakra surged in her good hand as she reached for her deteriorating arm.

"Sakura." Sasuke mumbled and Sakura halted her hand's progress. She could see that she was starting to shake and her pulse was elevating.

"Either kill me quick, or let me go, Sas-" She grunted out in frustration and pain as Sasuke's voice interuppted her.

"You have to help the dobe." Sakura didn't have time to be wholly shocked at his words because the black flames on her arms and in the woods behind her were snuffed out. She whipped her eyes back to Sasuke and saw that he had collapsed-eyes closed and surrounded by blood on the forest floor.

She frowned at the sight. There was a time when Sakura would without question heal Sasuke before herself, but no longer. With the flames gone, Sakura could really asses the damage on her arm.

She was surprised to find that it only seemed like she suffered a severe burn. Where was the bone protrusion she saw seconds ago? She also noticed that her sweat and feverish conditions indicative of going into shock appeared to have disappeared too.

Did he use a genjutsu on me to make the amaterasu seem worse than it was? She looked behind her to the trees and noted that they still seemed to be just as severely damaged as they seemed to be moments ago.

_He used genjutsu to make it seem as though his intentions were to kill me, but he didn't really intend to harm me? If so, that must have been a hell of a genjutsu to string it in while also using real Amaterasu as he did-and for me to not notice. . ._

Sakura washed her only superficially burned skin in chakra. It still stung like high hell, but she could feel the skin quickly knit back together. She looked down at Sasuke as he laid, unconscious, in the dirt.

She sighed.

"Sasuke, you were always the real Dobe, not Naruto." As he she finished with her arm she sighed again and rolled her eyes as she placed her hands over Sasuke's body.

She had to at least make sure he wasn't on death's door or she'd never forgive herself.

"Severe damage to the eyes-of course-some internal bleeding, nothing life-threatening. Malnutrition, fatigue and one serious attitude problem. . ." She withdrew her hands gave herself one more final check and stood up.

As she looked down at Sasuke's still form, she couldn't help but remember how she had almost killed him just now-especially when it seemed he had no intention to actually kill her. The fact that she lost control of her own body and chakra scared her the most.

What the hell was going on?! And the way her chakra put up a wall between her and the amaterasu. . .it reminded her of what she remembered feeling before she passed out near the hot spring with Naruto earlier.

"Please tell me that the legend that old crazy-ass Kagome told us is meant to be taken literally. I just thought it was a convenient metaphor. Ugh." She finger combed her hair and refocused.

"Whatever, I need to find Naruto." Without a second thought she took off into the woods with only the sinking dread in her gut of what could happen to him.

The one thing that Jiraiya had always been blinded by was trust and loyalty. He placed real trust in Orochimaru as a team member and nakama. He placed trust and patience in the idea that one day he would be able to truly show Tsunade how he felt for her. He trusted that he would one day see his second legendary student of prophecy, Uzumaki Naruto, be Fire Country's greatest Hokage.

But, it would seem that day, like so many others, Jiraiya would have no easy time reaching. It was that same trust that blinded him yet again to what his first prophetic student was capable of.

"Hello Sensei." Jiraiya turned with shock on his now very sober face. He is a Sennin after all, he only gets drunk when he _allows_ himself to be.

"Yahiko?"

Seeing the Rinnegan glitter in Yahiko's eyes struck Jiraiya like a blow. The figure before him blinked, but it wasn't a gesture that belonged on Yahiko's body.

"Nagato?!"

The body of Yahiko smiled.

"Nagato! What have you done?"

"I am known only as Pein now, Sensei. Yahiko lives on this way, through my power as a God. Though the real Yahiko is long since dead."

It was then that Jiraiya knew. Nagato somehow had found out. The bartender and other patrons had made themselves scarce from the moment Nagato had released his heavy aura and threatening chakra presence. Even with this aura and this heavy pressure, Jiraiya knew that this was just a strange clone Nagato had sent to converse with him. He wasn't actually here. Still, it spoke to how formidable he had become.

Jiraiya's frown magnified as he noted the black and red colors that bled on his student's robe like slashes across his flesh and his pride. His former student was truly a member of Akatsuki as Itachi (his long time informant) had warned. Jiraiya refused to believe that Yahiko would join such an organization-especially because he heard that Yahiko had long ago died in a battle with Hanzo. But, Nagato. . .Nagato he sadly knew was capable of this.

"I hear of the great wonders of my fellow pupil, Uzumaki Naruto and his ability to control the Kyuubi."

Jiraiya said nothing.

"What I hear my leader also hears." Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. During his last meeting with Itachi, before he lost his life in his battle with Sasuke, he had told him that the public leader of Akatsuki was Pein, but the one pulling the strings-the real leader-was behind the scenes. Itachi was also certain that this shadow leader was a very old and very powerful Uchiha.

"And what is it your leader wants with my student, Nagato? Or should I say, what does he want with the Kyuubi?" Pein remained silent for a few breaths as he considered.

"Sensei. I will give you the honor and respect of a choice and a chance to save your student."

"I'm listening." He already knew where this was going.

"My leader intends to attempt to extract the beast from your student when he is at his most vulnerable tonight by manipulating others."

Jiraiya flinched. That would have to mean they know about Sakura too and how to push them together too soon before they can confirm their love for one another. . .thereby allowing the Kyuubi to control things and release himself.

"I will tell you the full extent of his plans for your student." Pein's voice resigned Jiraiya to his decision. He already knew what his answer would be regardless of the cost.

"And what, praytell, does this get you Nagato? I thought you too wanted to obtain all of the Bijuu?"

"I once thought my goals with leader were the same, but he has proven to not have the same ends in mind. He intends to plunge the world into a permanent genjutsu by casting it upon the moon and reviving the ten tails. I wished only to destroy the balance of power struggles, war, and strife caused by the Ninja Villages and their beasts, not create an endless illusion."

"I'm glad you finally have some humility, Nagato. What is the tradeoff?"

"I am willing to give you this opening and if your student is truly able to subdue the Kyuubi and choose forgiveness when there is only pain, then I will let him live and forsake my efforts."

"And if not?"

"I will take the Kyuubi and continue with my goals."

"But. . ."

"I leave the defeat of Akatsuki's true leader to you. You have three days."

With that, the clone of Pein vanished. Jiraiya sighed as he cursed his luck. He was just beginning to really relax too.

When Kakashi finally felt a faint chakra signature pressing on his heightened senses from the periphery of the grounds of the Hotsprings as he made his way back, he was confused. Kakashi was not expecting what was only confirmed for him when Pakkun, along with two other of his ninken dogs, Shiba and Akino, returned from their scout around the grounds.

Akino and Shiba arrived first from the opposite direction that Kakashi detected the closest chakra signature.

"We followed Naruto's trail deep into the forest, but it becomes muddled with another scent we don't recognize." Shiba nodded his doggy head and barked in agreement.

Pakkun came second and he was huffing and puffing from exertion. Kakashi saw the surprised and stricken look in his closes dog's eyes.

"What is it Pakkun?"

"Kakashi-san, I detected a scent and chakra signature that is very familiar to me, though it is quite faint. . .Come quickly this way."

Kakashi and the other dogs followed Pakkun as he started to jog back the way he came.

"Who is it, Pakkun?"

"Sasuke."

Naruto had no idea where he was going. He just knew he needed to put some distance between himself and that Inn for the time being. It was like something was in the air back there and it was driving him crazy.

After talking with Gaara about the mating ritual and going into bonding mode with the Kyuubi and the risks it posed to both him and Sakura-he felt a bit better; but, that was all before the Kyuubi had all but taken him over back on the stones outside the Hotspring. He flinched as he thought of how he had almost taken Sakura against her will-or at least that's what it seemed like. It started out wonderfully. _She looked so beautiful. But our feelings are so complicated. . .I still don't know if this is just lust. . .and then. . .Kyuubi took over._

She seemed as though her body's control had been taken away from her too, but all he could do was watch as though his consciousness was floating outside his own body while the Kyuubi spoke to her and controlled his actions. It was the most terrifying experience of his life.

He paused in his frantic jog into the forest to look at his hands._ I could never live with myself if I hurt her again._

The one and only time Naruto had really hurt Sakura because of the Kyuubi had been back on that bridge when they had encountered Orochimaru and Kabuto for the first time in years.

Naruto refused to allow something like that to happen again-and for him to come so close to hurting Sakura again today because of the Kyuubi and during one of the most intimate and vulnerable acts two people could ever enjoy together-Naruto could barely even breathe.

He figured the only reason the fox had been curiously silent since the incident was because of how much agony he was in over almost hurting Sakura again.

So he continued to run for now in the hopes that he would think of something or that the pain would at least subside.

And the pain did slowly start to dissipate. The further Naruto got from the Inn the less remorseful and the more angry he felt.

At one point he stopped running and found himself growling and thinking about going back and claiming Sakura as his own.

"What the hell is wrong with me!? I don't even know if she cares about me anymore after what happened." He ruffled his hair.

But as he turned and continued to move further from the Inn, he only felt his temper grow-yet Kurama still remained oddly silent.

After another ten minutes of running aimlessly, Naruto slowed as he thought he heard some twigs snap. As he made his way toward the noise, that seemed to be coming from behind a tree, he thought he heard a moan. He inched closer until he saw a flash of pink hair.

He felt his hackles rise as a territorial need boiled within him. _**Sakura. Mine.**_

"Unnnnhhh. Oooh." He could hear what sounded like Sakura's voice making very erotic noises. Naruto couldn't help the simultaneous chords of desire and fierce jealousy the noises struck within him.

As he drew close enough to see through the shadows, he saw Sakura in her traditional medics apron and Haruno clan ninja uniform pressed up against a tree with her pink hair splayed in a wild mess upon the bark. His logic side not cognizant enough to realize that was not what Sakura was wearing tonight, Naruto clenched his fists. Her cheeks were rosy pink in passion and her shirt was open with her breasts exposed.

Naruto could feel his canines lengthen and the red chakra rise on his skin as he growled unconsciously. Tails sprouted from his back. **_Who. WHO IS TOUCHING HER._**

Inside his own head, Naruto didn't notice when his voice and Kurama's spoke and merged together as one, because all he saw was a body with raven hair and coal black eyes squished between the upraised skirt and naked legs and lower half of Sakura as he pounded into her.

_**"SASUKE!"**_ All logic and coherent thought now thoroughly gone, Naruto had sprouted three tails and his skin was beginning to peel. He charged forward with one intent and one intent only: _**KILL THE SNAKE.**_

Just as he was about to scratch a claw across Sasuke's face and rip limb from limb, Sasuke turned around and Sakura opened her eyes and the scene froze as both looked at Naruto and smirked in mockery as they continued fucking. Naruto felt his psyche curl up in agony inside his mind as he allowed Kurama his will.

At that precise moment, the image of Sasuke and Sakura vanished and a man in an Akatsuki cloak and swirling orange mask appeared in their vanishing wake.

"Hello, Kyuubi. I'm so happy you followed my breadcrumbs."

Confused, the now very much shared eyes of Kurama and Naurto flinched as the one visible eye behind the orange mask resolved into the pinwheels of the Mangekyo Sharingan.

"I hope you will enjoy being my pet." The man smiled in mirth as Naruto and Kurama wailed in agony and clutched at their joint head. Naruto's body now no longer in his control or Kurama's control, writhed upon the ground as the seal on Naruto's belly glowed white hot. Naruto went into an epileptic fit at the pain.

"There is, of course, one missing component to this puzzle. In order for you to come out and play, Kurama, I need the cycle to be complete. Ah, I think I hear your partner now."

As Sakura ran, she tried to think. _If it really is Madara or at least someone with an agenda similar to what I know of Madara, then he probably wants the Kyuubi for himself. Maybe this is wrapped up with the Akatsuki?_

"Shit, this is going from bad to worse then." Sakura stepped up her jog. Her subconscious was pulling her in one particular direction in the woods and for once, she was just going to trust it to lead her to Naruto-even if it was the part of her that wanted to come out and wreak havoc with good ol' Kurama.

"Wait! Maybe that's it. What if this asshole was trying to use Sasuke to cause Naruto to break down? Whenever Naruto is really upset, the seals on the Kyuubi loosen. I'd be willing to bet that nothing would upset him more than. . .seeing me with Sasuke. . .like that. . .and if this guy is a genjutsu master like I think he is. . .then . . ."

Kakashi approached his unconscious former student warily. From the looks of things, he had just been through quite a fight. Doing a quick scan of the perimeter of the area with his Sharingan and detecting nothing but the faint chakra signature of Sakura, Kakashi frowned. He crouched by Sasuke and checked his pulse. Judging from the damage, Sakura's inner power must have awakened when she met him.

"Sasuke. What happened here?"

Kakashi asked as he pressed kunai to Sasuke's throat, knowing he was only pretending to still be unconscious and that from the evident condition of his eyes, he was currently in no shape to make use of his very dangerous sharingan.

"Sakura and I fought. I told her she had to help that urusatonkachi." Kakashi corked a brow and grimaced beneath his mask.

"Why would you try to help her after you so obviously tried to kill her."

"Because. . ." Sasuke looked like a petulant 5 year old before he answered, for a moment. Kakashi made an "and then" gesture to keep him going.

"Because, I know I can't live without either of them."

"Ahh. I'm glad you finally know about the prophecy Sasuke-it's amazing, I didn't think you had any sense of self-preservation at all, just arrogance." Kakashi rolled his eyes.

"Tch. You're one to talk Sensei. . ."

"Who is here with you?" Sasuke set his jaw and tried to look uncooperative, but it wasn't very effective when he was essentially laying in dirt with dried bloody tears and a kunai pressed to his jugular.

"I didn't come with anyone, I acted on my own. But I know the head of the Akatsuki his here. He intends to extract the Kyuubi from Naruto."

"Pein? Pein is here?!"

"No. Pein is not the leader. Uchiha Madara is." Kakashi flinched as his earlier suspicions were confirmed. This explained Danzo's involvement much more. . .there had always been rumors that they had perhaps worked together on some level. Paid each other off for the Uchiha massacre. . .

But something still didn't sit right with Kakashi-something bothered him at the edge of his thoughts.

"Do you know this supposed Madara's chakra signature? Can you trace it?" Kakashi didn't want to have to use Sasuke for help, but he had to for the moment.

Sasuke sighed and sat up.

"Yes."

From across the clearing, Sakura arrived and came to a screeching halt. _I finally found him!_

"NARUTO!" She screamed as she made her way towards him. She could see him writhing on the ground and the fourth-tail state starting to take hold of him.

_It's just like my dream! But instead of Sasuke across the clearing, she saw a man in a swirling orange mask and Akatsuki cloak, a man she could only assume was Uchiha Madara._

She rushed to Naruto as he clawed at his throat like he was being choked by an invisible collar.

"So nice of you to join us, Ms. Haruno Sakura." She felt the face behind the mask wear an ugly smirk.

"What have you done to him!?"

"O, I've merely simplified things for you is all." Sakura drew closer to Naruto and flooded chakra to her hands in an attempt to heal the skin on Naruto even as it was starting to peel right off.

"Tut, tut, I don't think that will do much good at this point, Haruno." The man in the orange mask snapped his fingers and Naruto yowled in the deep voice of the Kyuubi like he hand been whipped.

Sakura froze and screamed.

"STOP IT!" She rounded on the man in the orange mask with her hands clenched into fists. She was seething with rage. She could feel the green aura that made its presence known back in the woods with Sasuke start to flood around her again.

_**"WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH HIM**_._**"**_ She could her and feel her voice changing into that strange dual-toned voice she had used on Sasuke too; but, Sakura couldn't bring herself to care or comprehend right now. She was too far gone with her need to protect and save Naruto.

"Only what you want my dear." The man gestured and Sakura's rage paused for a moment as she was befuddled. Behind her, Naruto had reverted back to his human three-tails form, although, if anyone saw his eyes, they could tell that he was still very much 'gone.' His eyes were black with red pupils.

Sakura felt her body being pulled back to Naruto, like a magnet.

She turned and when their eyes met, it was like all hell broke loose.

Great waves of green erupted from Sakura's skin as her eyes filled in to pink and her irises were green-ed out and floods of red chakra erupted from Naruto's skin in response.

And, just like two magnets snapping together, their bodies met in a feral kiss. Naruto snarled and bit at her neck and she cooed and scratched at his back. Their chakra met and swirled together like two lesser storms converging into a great hurricane.

With his now substantially clawed hands, Naruto reached down to part Sakura's Kimono and proceeded to shred her panties. Sakura, in turn used long spindly chakra blades to slice Naruto's pants and boxers down and off.

A great weight of ferocious chakra energy bore down on the clearing as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

"And, now, we just wait, I do hope I will get to keep both pets instead of just one" The smile on the man in the orange's mask face spread sinisterly as he watched and he waited.

Muhahahaha! I will finally finish this story! Also you have been warned! The next chapter will contain some MAJOR plot spoilers for Naruto, so if you are not current on the anime at least-you will be angry with me! I will post more soon I promise ;). I am not evil, remember-well not too evil.


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